When Love Grows Cold
by Northern-Southern Belle
Summary: After committing murder with her magic, Lenora is forced to be the servant of James Black, whose job it is to punish those who do misdeeds in the name of love and who doesn't love at all himself. Meanwhile, Selina realizes Elijah is the man for her, but must prove her love after she gets pregnant with Klaus' child. Sequel to Bohemian Rhapsody.
1. Coming Home

Disclaimer: Only Plot and original characters belong to me!

The next morning, Selina woke up to the feeling of warm fingers being gently drawn down her bare back. "Mornin' Nicky," she said sleepily and collapsed face first onto her pillow. "Grrr, I don't want to get out of bed! It's nice in here."

"I feel the same, love," Klaus said, gently turning her over to face him. "My god," he said. "You're beautiful." Selina giggled and flushed. "No, I'm not," she said, hiding her face. "You're just saying that!"

"No!" He shook his head. "I'm not, I promise."

Selina pulled her face off the pillow. "Well, I guess you're not so bad-looking yourself," she said.

He smirked. "I gave you a much more flattering compliment."

"Yeah, well," she grinned, kissing him. "Just trying to keep you humble. If I told you what I _really _thought of you, your head would swell up and there wouldn't be any room for it in here. The ceiling would break apart."

At that, he turned her over on her back and loomed over her. "Hush," he said and kissed her again. She giggled as her arms went around his neck. "Here we go again!" She said happily.

After round two, Selina's alarm rang. She sighed and sat up. "I guess it's time for us to start the day, right?"

Klaus nodded. "Yes, but that doesn't mean we won't be back here later."

Selina pushed the covers aside and got out of bed. Klaus kept his eyes on her as she walked to the bathroom to shower. "Now stop looking at me like that," she said, trying to stay serious. "If you keep looking at me like that, we'll never get anything done."

"If you wanted, I could join you in the shower," he said.

Selina shook her head. "Not today. Alistair's not here yet and one of us has to keep our ears open in case the kids need anything. Today, it's your turn."

Klaus sighed and got out of bed himself, putting on his boxers and a t-shirt. "Of all days for Alistair to be late..." he muttered under his breath.

While Selina showered, he checked on Lissy and got her dressed. Then he took a look at Laura and Colin, who seemed fine for the moment. Gregory's door was closed.

He brought Felicity to the dining room and Laura joined him a few minutes later. She was wearing a pair of pink leggings, an orange skirt, and a red top. "Good morning," she said. "I dressed myself today. Mommy didn't even have to help!"

"Yes," Klaus replied. "And you did a lovely job. You look nice."

"Thank you," Laura said and sat down. They waited at the kitchen table until Selina appeared with Colin. "Sorry I kept you all waiting," she said. "Everyone okay in here?"

"Yeah," Laura nodded and stood up. "Look, Mommy. I dressed myself today!"

"Good job," Selina told her. "Learning to do things by yourself is very important." She sat Colin down in his high chair and said, "All right, who wants breakfast?"

* * *

After breakfast, Selina tried once more to reach out to Gregory, but she failed. When Alistair arrived and sequestered himself in Elijah's office, Selina followed, shutting the door behind her. "I need advice," she said. "Will you help me?"

"All right," Alistair said. "Have a seat. What do you need?"

"It's about Gregory," Selina told him. "Ever since Elijah left, Gregory's been upset. I want to help him, but I don't know how. I've tried to explain that Elijah is gone, but it just doesn't seem to be getting through to him. And seeing me with Klaus is upsetting him too, but I deserve to have a life besides my kids, don't I? Am I wrong for not letting a five-year-old make me feel guilty? Am I selfish?"

"No," Alistair replied. "I wouldn't say you're a bad mother. It's healthy to have your own interests outside of your children. You're not doing anything wrong."

"See!" Selina sat up straighter. "You get it. Why can't Gregory? Why does he have to shame me every time I try to enjoy myself?"

"Gregory is young," Alistair said. "He and Elijah were very close. When Elijah went away, Gregory lost his major source of support since you have to spend so much time taking care of the younger children. He's angry and grieving and feels like someone should take the blame for Elijah's loss, so he picked you since you've been able to move on a lot quicker than he has. I know it isn't fair, but that's what's going on, and I don't think there's any one thing you can do to make him feel better toward you. I'm afraid you'll just have to wait this one out."

"And what's up with that anyway?" Selina asked. "I give and give to my kids. I love them and care for them and we're close when they're babies, but the second they get older, they move on to someone else, you know, Klaus, Elijah or whoever and I just feel like I don't matter. It's Lonely Heart all over again, only this is the 'Sad Mommy' version and all I wanna do is cry instead of kill."

"Children bond with different people," Alistair said. "Just because the kids don't spend a lot of time with you doesn't mean they don't love you. Adrian loves you. Did you forget about him?"

"But he's the only one," Selina replied. "Well, him and Sam. There might be someone else too, but I can't think of them at the moment. I just want things with Gregory and me to be better."

"Well, maybe," Alistair began, an idea suddenly hitting him. "Maybe if you and Klaus tried to _find_ Elijah and bring him back, that would improve your standing in Gregory's eyes because he'd see you still have some commitment to his father even if Elijah's not here."

"But we have no idea where Elijah is," Selina said. "That's the main problem. That and I don't know if Nicky would separate from Felicity long enough to go on a quest to get Elijah, especially since, as I previously pointed out, we have no idea where he is."

"If you mention it to him, you might be surprised at what Klaus says," Alistair told her. "Go ahead and do it. What do you have to lose?"

* * *

When Lenora, Damon and Lucy arrived home that night, the first thing they did was go see Alistair. "We're back!" Lenora told him. "Everything went okay."

"And you kept track of your father?" Alistair asked her. "You didn't lose him or anything?"

"No, I didn't lose him, Lenora said. It was then that Alistair noticed she had a leash looped around her wrist. She moved aside and Adrian the bunny, who was looking very sad in Alistair's opinion, hopped forward a few hops and then sat.

"I'll go get the rest of the stuff out of the car," Damon said. He looked at Lucy. "Would you help me?"

"Sure," Lucy nodded. "Let's go."

Once they were gone, Lenora said to Alistair, "Where's Mom? Can we get her to turn Daddy back now?"

"Yes, we will, but I have to tell you something about your mother first," Alistair told her gently. "You know how your daddy gave Felicity to Grandpa Klaus to watch?"

Lenora nodded. "Uh-huh. And Mommy got upset and she turned Daddy into a bunny. I know all that."

"Well," Alistair cleared his throat. "While you were gone with Damon and Lucy, your mother tried to take Felicity back and then hurt your sister with her magic."

"Oh, my gosh!" Lenora gasped. "Is Felicity okay?"

"Yes, she's fine," Alistair nodded. "She's back with Grandpa Klaus and Grandma Selina and everything is okay. But the bad news is that your Grandma Astrid and the other members of the council have decided that since your mother hurt your sister, she has to have her powers taken away. And in order for that to happen, your mother is going to be gone for awhile."

"Good," Lenora nodded. "Mom _should_ be in trouble for hurting Felicity." She paused. "Maybe I should go with her. I did something bad too."

"What did you do?" Alistair asked. "Are you hurt? Did you hurt someone?"

"No," Lenora shook her head. "But remember how Grandma Astrid gave Mom and Dad Tobias Potter to watch?"

"Yes," Alistair nodded. "What about him?"

"Well, when we were in the woods, I met his son, and when Daniel told me that his mother wanted to see his father, I kinda gave him to her."

"What?!" Alistair's eyes widened. "You mean we don't have Tobias with us anymore? His _wife_ has him? Oh, for the love of-"

Lenora held her wrists out. "You can arrest me and take me to jail now," she said. "I know I did something bad."

"No," Alistair said, running his fingers through his hair. "When the council hears Theresa was involved, I'm sure no one will blame you. She's a very sneaky woman. You couldn't have known how devious she is."

Lenora put her hands down. "So I'm not in trouble?"

"No," Alistair shook her head. "I'm sure your Grandma Astrid will put in a good word for you and nothing bad will happen." He looked down at Adrian the bunny and said, "Just a minute." He left and came back with a very frazzled-looking Helene.

"Hi, Lenora," she said. "I'm so happy to see you!" She reached out to hug her daughter, but Lenora sidestepped it. "Yeah, right!" She said. "Turn Daddy back now!"

Helene turned to Alistair. "Do I _have _to?"

"Yes," Alistair nodded. "It's the last act of magic you'll be able to perform. Do it now."

Helene grumbled. "Not only am I gonna lose my powers, but the last act of magic I get to perform is turning my stupid husband back into a person. What a waste."

"You wouldn't be in this situation if you'd just learned to control yourself," Alistair reminded her. "Don't blame anyone else for something that is your own fault."

"And _his_ fault!" Helene said in outrage, her head tilted in Adrian the bunny's direction. "If he hadn't taken Felicity to his father without telling me, none of this would have happened."

"I agree that that had _something_ to do with all this, but you turned him mostly because he told you that he wanted a bigger part in raising the girls and that upset you," Alistair said. "Isn't that right?"

"Well, yes," Helene nodded. "But who does he think he is saying stuff like that? We were perfectly happy. Why did he have to go and ruin it by opening his big fat mouth?"

"_I_ wasn't happy," Lenora told her. "I _wanted_ to learn vampire and werewolf stuff and you wouldn't let me! If it wasn't for Damon, I wouldn't know anything at all!"

"What?" Damon asked. He looked back and forth between Helene and Lenora's angry faces and then looked at Lucy.

"We're interrupting something, aren't we?" Lucy asked. "Sorry about that. We'll go back to the car."

"No, it's okay, Aunt Lucy," Lenora said. "We're done now." She left and Alistair once again attempted to reason with Helene. "You _have_ to turn him back," He said. "Don't you want Felicity to grow up knowing at least _one_ of her parents?"

"Well, yeah!" Helene replied. "But the parent she should know is _me_, not Adrian! He abandoned me, damn it! And who's to say he won't do the same thing to her?"

"Well, with you gone, that's just a risk we'll have to take," Alistair said. "Turn him back. _Now_."

Helene rolled her eyes. "Fine," she said and flicked her hand. The bunny rose into the air and then began to shift and coalesce until it turned back into Adrian. He began to cough and sputter because the leash was still around his neck. "Help!" He coughed. "Help!"

Alistair quickly got the leash off him and said, "Why don't you go talk to Lenora? It's probably the best thing right now."

"Yeah," Adrian agreed. "But before Helene goes, can I just say that I hope she gets the help she needs?"

"If anyone needs help, it's _you!" _Helene called after him as he turned his back on her and walked away.

"That's enough now!" Alistair said to her. "Let's go!"

* * *

"I was talking with Alistair yesterday morning," Selina told Klaus at breakfast the next day. It had taken her a whole day to decide to put the 'find Elijah' idea to Klaus. "And he mentioned something interesting to me."

"What about?" Klaus asked. He was doing his best to try and feed Felicity and listen to Selina at the same time and it wasn't going well.

Selina noticed this and went to the kitchen to get him a towel. "I could do that for you," she offered. "It would stop you from having to do laundry so often."

Klaus looked up at her. "Thank you," he said as he wiped what he could off his shirt. "But I think I can persevere. Now, what were you talking about with Alistair?"

"Well, I've been having trouble relating to Gregory ever since Elijah was...immobilized because the kid can't seem to understand that I can't just magically make Elijah appear, and Alistair suggested that maybe if you and I tried to go find Elijah, that might make Gregory more pleasant toward both of us. What do you say?"

Klaus shrugged. "I don't know," he said. He looked down at Felicity. "We'd have to leave Lissy behind, wouldn't we?"

Selina shrugged. "Not necessarily, but it would probably make things easier if we did."

Klaus sighed. "Well then I'm torn because you know I want to avenge my brother, but the thought of leaving Lissy behind to do it...suddenly it makes revenge lose its appeal."

"Well, we don't have to decide right now," Selina said. "We don't even have to do it if you don't want to. It was just an idea."

"No, I want to," Klaus said. "But I also don't want to leave Lissy behind, so we're just in a hard place, aren't we?"

"Yeah, " Selina nodded. "Normally, we could ask Alistair to babysit, but he's gone. I suppose we could leave them all with your mother."

"No!" Klaus' eyes widened. "Not for that long of a time. But then that doesn't leave anyone, does it?"

Just then, the doorbell rang.

"Who could that be?" Selina asked. She went to open the door and Klaus heard her let out a shriek that made Felicity start crying.

"Who is it?" He called as he tried to calm her down.

Just then, Selina came into the kitchen, followed by Adrian, who looked first at his father, then at Lissy nestled in Klaus' arms. "Hi, Dad," he said. "I'm not a bunny anymore. And I want to see my daughter."


	2. Alpha Males

Selina and Klaus looked at one another. "How did you get turned back?" She asked Adrian. "What happened to Helene?"

"She's getting her powers taken away," Adrian said and poured himself a bowl of cereal. After he took a few bites, he held out his arms to Klaus. "Can I hold Lissy now?" He asked. Klaus hesitated. Laura poked Adrian. "Who are you?" She asked. "Are you gonna take Lissy away too?"

"No," Klaus said before Adrian could speak. "He's not, Laura." He held Lissy closer to himself.

"Cause she's staying right here."

"All I want to do is hold her," Adrian said. "Mom, would you mind...?"

"Nicky, let Adrian hold Lissy. He has the right to," Selina said.

"But..." Klaus said. "I don't _want _him to!"

"Give her to me then," Selina told him.

Klaus' eyes narrowed. "Are you gonna give her to Adrian?"

"Yes," Selina nodded. "Nicky, you're acting more like a baby than Lissy is. Now just give her to Adrian. Please."

Reluctantly, Klaus handed Lissy over and Adrian took her, grinning when she stayed a baby and didn't turn into anything else.

"Now you come," Selina said to Klaus, pulling him up. "We have to talk."

She led Klaus into the next room and said, "What was that?"

"I don't want him holding Lissy," Klaus said. "He could do it wrong."

"Nicky, he's her _father_," Selina reminded him. "You have to _at least _let him see her."

"He _did _see her," Klaus said. "But handing her over to him was not part of the deal. What are you gonna tell me next? That he should get to take her home with him?"

Selina shook her head. "I don't know," she said. "I have to go to our room and take a breather from the two of you. I'll be back in a bit."

* * *

When Selina got back to the kitchen, she found Adrian and Klaus throwing cupcakes and pies at each other.

"Hey!" She yelled. "Just a minute! What's going on here?" She stepped a little further into the kitchen and got hit square in the face with a chocolate cream pie.

She growled and wiped filling off her face before managing to get in between Klaus and Adrian. "Hey, hey, hey!" She said. "What the hell is going on here?"

"He started it!" Adrian replied.

"I didn't ask who started it," Selina told him. "I asked what made it happen. What could possibly inspire the two of you to take the baked goods I worked so hard to make and use them to have a food fight worthy of 'The Great Race' in my kitchen?!"

Klaus grinned at the fact that she still had pie filling on her face and in her hair, then cleared his throat. "Well, you know, love," he said, "these things happen. I couldn't very well beat up on him, could I? This was the next best thing."

Selina narrowed her eyes. "You're not helping yourself," she said. "Now, what we're gonna do is we're all gonna go to separate rooms to calm down and then we're gonna clean this up. You got me?" She turned around and slipped on a cupcake wrapper, but Klaus caught her before she fell to the floor.

"Thank you, Klaus," she said stiffly before striding off.

Klaus looked at Adrian and said, "I'll get this sorted out." He went to the bedroom where Selina was preparing for a shower.

"What do you want?" She asked when she saw him.

"Are you gonna take a shower?" He asked.

"Well, yeah!" She nodded. "I'm a mess!"

Klaus nodded. "I am too. Perhaps we could go in together and..."

"No," Selina cut him off. "This is all your fault, so you'll wait your turn. Thanks to you and Adrian's emotional pissing contest, I lost two to three days worth of inventory! I'm gonna have to call Edith and tell her that we're gonna close down for a couple of days while we re-bake all that the two of you destroyed. I hope you're happy! Do you _enjoy_ making me upset?"

"No," Klaus replied, his face softening. "Never. How about after we both get cleaned up, we go clean up the kitchen? I'll help you, and get Adrian to as well."

Selina had been facing away from him, but now she turned. "Really?" She asked. "You will?"

"Yes," Klaus nodded. "I will."

"Well then, I suppose that after we clean up the kitchen, you and I could come back here and have some time alone," she said. "I don't think it would hurt anything."

"That's not what I thought you'd say," Klaus told her.

"Really?" Selina asked. "What were you thinking?"

"I was thinking you were gonna tell me that I was in trouble and in punishment for what Adrian and I did."

Selina sighed. "I can't say I'm _happy_ about it, but what does staying angry really accomplish, anyway? You told me you'd help me clean the kitchen up and that's good. It's a step in the right direction. That's why I'm rewarding you afterward."

Klaus grinned. "Oh, of course you're just doing this for me. It's not like there's anything in it for you at all, is there?"

Selina nodded. "Well, there might be. And I might just like it. A lot." She grinned. "Now, I have to shower and so do you."

"Which is why I think it would be a lot more efficient to have both of us in there at the same time," Klaus told her. "Don't you think?"

"Oh, come on, Nicky," Selina told him, grinning a little. "I know the only reason you want to go in the shower with me and it has nothing to do with efficiency."

"You can't deny that it would take less time," Klaus said.

"Yes I can," Selina nodded. "Cause it would take _more_ time. You'd get distracted. We both would."

Klaus sighed. "Fine. If this has to be a business shower, you go first and I'll wait out here."

Selina nodded. "All right." So as not to tempt him, she went into the bathroom, undressed and turned the shower water on.

Klaus got on the bed, lay back and shut his eyes, letting images of Selina drift in front of his vision. It wasn't as good as seeing her in real life, but it was close enough. Soon, he heard her voice. "Nicky? Nicky, I'm done. You can go in the bathroom now if you want."

He opened his eyes and saw Selina in a bathrobe and wet hair grinning back at him. "Are you okay?" She asked.

"Oh, yes," he nodded, sitting up. "I'm fine." He got off the bed and immediately began stripping his clothes off.

"Hey!" Selina said. "I was nice! I changed in the bathroom!"

He turned. "Sorry I'm not so charitable, love," he said. "But it will give you something to think about while we clean the kitchen."

Selina rolled her eyes while Klaus strode naked into the bathroom. When the door was closed, she shook her head. It was amazing how even when he was covered in cupcake frosting and pie filling, she still found him incredibly alluring.

* * *

"Okay, boys," Selina said later when she, Adrian and Klaus were standing in the kitchen. "We have to get this place cleaned up. You two do the dishes and I'll wipe off the counters and the floors."

Adrian looked at the pile of dirty dishes. "But do you see how many there are? It's gonna take forever!"

Selina nodded. "Well, you should have thought of that before you decided to have your little pie fight, shouldn't you? Don't worry. With the two of you working together, I'm sure it won't take much time at all."

Adrian grumbled and turned the faucet on. While he and Klaus washed the dishes, Selina made quick work of the counters and then got down on her knees to do the floors. Klaus noticed this out of the corner of his eye, turning so he could get a better view of her butt wiggling as she scrubbed. "Dad," Adrian said, waving his hand in front of Klaus' face. "Dad, what are you doing?"

Klaus moved Adrian's hand away. "You're making it very difficult for me to watch, Adrian!"

"Watch what?" Adrian asked, and then saw immediately what his father had been looking at. His face twisted. "Oh, _god! _Do you have to do that now? I'm standing right here! Don't you think I went through enough of you two doing that in my childhood?" He quickly turned back to the sink.

Selina stood up. "What's going on?"

"I was merely admiring you from behind and I don't think Adrian should have a problem with that just because Helene is gone, should he?" Klaus asked her.

Selina put her hands up. "I'm not getting involved," she said. "if you two are having a problem, work it out yourselves. Peacefully and with words like civilized people. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go to the bathroom." She left the kitchen and Klaus followed her.

"You were looking at my ass, weren't you?" She asked.

"Well, what other meaning could there be for the phrase 'I was admiring you from behind'?" Klaus asked. "You're not going to berate me for that, are you?"

"No!" Selina shook her head. "But don't you think that with Adrian here, you should be a bit more discreet? I mean, no one likes to think that their parents have sex. _No one._ And we've been hanging our sex life over his head his whole life."

"So, what's the problem then?" Klaus asked. "He should be used to it by now. I don't see anything wrong with how we do things, or the frequency with which we do them. This is our house and he should just deal with it."

"Actually, it's my and Elijah's house," Selina pointed out. "Not to split hairs or anything. Just being accurate."

"I meant it's the house that we're living in and he's not," Klaus told her. "He just showed up. He didn't even call first!"

Selina sighed. "Do you really feel you need to hammer this all out now?"

"Yes!" Klaus nodded.

"Fine," Selina said. "But it will just be one more delay until you see me naked."

Klaus sighed. "I _suppose_ we don't have to do this now." He turned to go back into the kitchen while Selina went to the bathroom and when she came back, they worked vigorously until the kitchen was clean. Then, they went into the living room to talk, even though Klaus insisted he didn't really need to.

"I think we do," Selina said. "Don't try to deny it, Nicky." Klaus sat down in Elijah's chair and Selina didn't know whether to scream or giggle.

"What?" Klaus asked when he saw her face contort slightly. "What's the matter?"

"Nothing," Selina shook her head. "That's Elijah's chair that no one is allowed to sit in but him, but I guess since he's not here, anyone can sit there if they want."

"No," Klaus said, standing up and dusting the seat off. "I'll move and come sit next to _you_."

"Has Roxie seen the two of you?" Adrian asked. "Does she know about this?"

"Yeah," Selina nodded. "We've told her. She was happy." She paused. "Now, onto important things: what is the deal with you two and what can we do to make it better?"

"He won't let me near Felicity!" Adrian accused. "And I'm her father!"

"You asked him to take care of her," Selina reminded him. "And it's been a month. Did you think you could just leave her with him and he wouldn't get attached to her?"

"Yeah, I suspected that he'd get attached to her," Adrian said. "But not enough that he'd be unwilling to give her back."

"When you brought her to me, you asked me to raise her," Klaus said. "You didn't mention anything about that only being for a certain amount of time. You made it seem like I'd have her for her entire life."

"And I that that's what would happen!" Adrian nodded. "I didn't expect Helene to go crazy and get hauled off so her powers could be taken away. And since she's gone, since the reason I gave you Felicity in the first place has been fixed, circumstances have changed."

"Adrian," Selina told him. "Do you really think that if we gave Felicity back to you, you'd be confident enough to care for her well even though you live by yourself?"

"I don't know," Adrian admitted. "But I could figure it out."

Selina sighed. "I'm sure you could, but I really think it would be best for Felicity to stay here with your Father and I, at least until she's older. Then we can reevaluate. But that doesn't mean you can't come visit her. We'll let you."

Adrian sighed. "All right," he said. "Fine. I'll go home and live alone. I suppose I deserve it, don't I?"

"It's a hard fact about life," Selina said. "Sometimes, you have to be alone. But it will only be miserable if you choose to make it that way. Try and find fun things to do. It'll distract you and make the time go faster. I'm sure it won't be long you'll have to be by yourself. I had to wait almost fifty years between the time your uncle Aleksandr left me and I met your dad. Those were dark days." She shivered and shook her head.

"Great," Adrian said, running his fingers through his hair. "That _really_ makes me feel better."

"It should," Selina told him. "Because I know you'll handle your solitude better than I did." She paused. "What did you two do with Lissy?"

"She's in her room," Klaus said.

Selina nodded and stood up. "I'll go get her," she told Adrian. "So you can say goodbye for now." She paused. "Unless you wanna stay here and tell us about your time as a bunny."

"No," Adrian shook his head. "I don't want to think of that again, thank you. Yep, I'll say goodbye to Lissy and then be on my way."

Selina nodded. "All right." She went to get Felicity and as she was picking Felicity up out of her crib, she felt a tug on the bottom of her sweater. She turned and saw Laura staring back at her. "Who's that man that's here?" She asked.

Selina got a good grip on Felicity and said, "You mean the one that looks like Uncle Klaus?"

Laura nodded.

"That's Adrian," she said. "He's Felicity's daddy."

"But I thought _Uncle Klaus_ was Felicity's daddy," Laura said. "That's what _he _always says!"

Selina shut her eyes. "It's very complicated," she said. "I'll explain it to you when you're older. For now, just believe me that Adrian is one daddy to Felicity and Uncle Klaus is another, just like it is with _you_ and Uncle Klaus."

"_Oh_," Laura nodded. "Okay." Selina left Felicity's room and Laura followed. When Selina put Felicity in Adrian's lap, Laura climbed onto the sofa and watched them intently.

"Yes?" Adrian asked her. "Can I help you?"

"You _do_ look a lot like Uncle Klaus," Laura said. "I was just looking."

"Nice outfit you're wearing," he said.

Laura looked down at her purple dress, jeans and pink tennis shoes and grinned. "Thank you," she said. She paused. "Did you know the mean lady who took Lissy before?" Laura asked Adrian.

He looked up. "What mean lady?" He asked, looking alarmed.

"She's talking about when Helene came to get Felicity," Selina explained.

"Oh," Adrian nodded. "Yeah," he told Laura. "I know her."

"She's a bad person!" Laura proclaimed. "Put your teeth in her and make her die!"

"Laura!" Selina said. "We don't say things like that about people. Where did you hear it?"

"From Uncle Klaus," Laura said. "I came out of my room once and he was talking to himself."

Selina gave Klaus a look. "I wasn't actually gonna act on it!" He defended himself. "Well, no more than I already did. I didn't want to kill her. I just wanted to scare her a little."

"What did you do?" Adrian asked. "What happened to her?"

"Nothing much," Klaus said. "Helene just had a little accident after she hurt Lissy so she would know what it feels like to be weak and helpless and have no one around to help you."

"She's better now," Selina assured Adrian. "And your father won't do anything like that again."

"Don't say that," Klaus said. "Let's just wait and see what future crimes she commits before making a promise like that."

"Well, I highly doubt she'll be able to do much without her powers," Adrian told him. "You're just lucky she's not dead!"

"And what if she was?" Klaus asked, standing up and smirking at his son. "What then? Would you try and kill me?"

Adrian nodded. "Oh, yes. You can be sure of that."

"Hey!" Selina said. "That's enough. Adrian, you go home. Nicky, Let's go put Lissy in her bed and then go to our room, okay?"

Klaus glared at Adrian, then struggled as Selina grabbed his arm and tried to pull him away. Klaus pulled his arm out of Selina's grip and then held both arms out to Adrian. "Give me Lissy back," he said.

Adrian looked down at Felicity, hugged her, sat down on the sofa, kissed her head, hugged her again, and whispered, "I'll come back, I promise," before reluctantly giving her back to his father.

* * *

"Well, that was fun," Klaus said when Adrian was gone.

"Could you have been anymore subtle about the fact that you wanted him gone?" Selina asked. "That's not the way to act toward your child! Especially when you're on the winning end of the argument. You just rubbed it in his face!"

"He's _not_ a child!" Klaus pointed out. "He can take care of himself. We don't have to coddle him anymore."

"Maybe," Selina agreed. "But that doesn't mean you don't have to be civil." She paused. "I'll be in our room. Come in when you're ready."

She left and Klaus looked down at Felicity, who seemed surprisingly happy for someone who had just been fought over. She stared calmly back at him and then cuddled against him before falling asleep.

Klaus stared down at her and then brought her in her room and rocked her for a bit before he heard a knock on her bedroom door.

"Yes?" He called.

Selina pushed the door open a bit and stepped in. She was wearing black panties this time. "Did you forget about me?" She asked. "You must really like Lissy if you did."

Klaus stood up and put Lissy in her crib, then followed Selina out the door and into their bedroom. As she unbuttoned his shirt, he said, "Sorry to have kept you waiting."

Selina shook her head. "It's not a problem. You were busy." He immediately took her in his arms, picked her up, and captured her mouth with his. He carried her over to the bed and gently tossed her onto it before taking off his shirt, throwing it on the floor, and unzipping his pants, then climbing beside her.

"Oh, come on," Selina said. "You have to take it _all _off. I mean seriously!"

"You're right," Klaus said as he kissed her neck. "I _am_ a bit overdressed, aren't I?" They got him out of his pants and his boxers and then Selina got out of her underwear so they were both naked in bed. Klaus picked up a corner of the sheet and rubbed it against Selina's shoulder. "Do you like the feeling of silk against your skin?" He asked her.

"Yes," she nodded. He brought the sheet down her arm and then she twisted her body around to kiss him again. They were sitting on the bed wrapped around each other, kissing furiously as he pushed into her. "Oh, Nicky!" She breathed. "That's so_ good_!" He then eased her down on the bed, nipping at her neck, and then licking up the tiny amount of blood that appeared.

"You taste so good," he said as he licked the blood off his lips. "Can I have more?"

Selina paused. "Don't go there, Nicky," she said.

"Go where?" He asked, kissing her stomach. "Here?" He kissed her inner thigh. "Or here?" She squirmed happily. "No," she said when she was able to focus again. "We won't play the biting game while we have so many little kids around. You know how unstable it makes me."

"I didn't say you had to bite me," Klaus said, taking her hand. kissing her fingers, and stroking her wrist. "All I said was that I want a bit more from you. Is that so wrong?"

Selina sighed. "Fine," she said. "You can have more. But not too much."

He kissed her neck again, and as he bit down, he also pushed into her, and Selina's whole world exploded.

By the time they were done, both were sweaty and panting heavily. "I don't know how long it will be until I'm able to move again," Selina said.

Klaus kissed her lips. "You were fabulous," he said.

Selina pulled out of the kiss with a grin. "Well, thanks," she said. "So were you. But I think you've killed me."

Klaus grinned. "No, I haven't. You'll be better in an hour or two."

* * *

"Why did you bring me to work with you, Grandma Astrid?" Lenora asked. "Is it because I lost Tobias? Grandpa said I wouldn't be punished for that."

"I didn't bring you here to punish you," Astrid said. "I just thought it would be a nice treat for you to see where I work."

They arrived at Astrid's office and found a man with short dark hair, severe blue eyes and wearing dark clothes under his black cape waiting just outside the door.

"Good morning Astrid," he said.

"Mr. Black," Astrid greeted him. "What are you doing here? I wasn't aware that we had an appointment."

He shrugged. "We didn't. But I've noticed a few things out in the world that need to be attended to and, as the rules say, I need the permission of a councilmember before I can carrry them out."

Astrid sighed, pushing her blonde hair out of her eyes. "All right," she said. "Let's go inside." But just as Astrid opened the door, the man noticed Lenora.

"And what's your name, little lassie?" He asked.

"Lenora," she answered, her voice shaky. "Who are you?"

"My name is James Black," he said. "Though no one ever calls me anything but my last name. It's my job to scare people and make sure they behave."

"Well, you're doing an awfully good job," Lenora said. He was certainly making her feel uneasy.

"Enough, Black," Astrid said. "Come inside and say what you need to say."

They all went into Astrid's office and sat down.

"May I state my business?" Mr. Black asked."Or at least one piece of my business."

"Fine," Astrid said. "What is it?"

Mr. Black took a scroll out of his bag, and read from it. "Around the town of Mystic Falls, Virginia, a young woman used her powers to break up the relationship between her brother and a woman he disliked by bringing an old boyfriend of the woman's back from the dead as a distraction. I'm sure the motives of that witch were purely self-serving."

"This must have happened awhile back," Astrid said, looking through some files. "I have no record of that ever happening."

"It could be because the witch in question was technically not the sort you usually bother yourselves with," Mr. Black said. "Apparently, she was a vampire that had some magical training."

Astrid shrugged. "If she's not actually a witch, there's not much we can do."

"But she raised a man from the dead!" Mr. Black said. "And she did it to interfere with a relationship that was making her unhappy. That's breaking two rules right there! And since she's a vampire, she'd have a good long time to learn her lesson in my humble home."

"Wait a minute!" Lenora said. "My Grandma used to live in Mystic Falls! Who's the bad witch?"

"Her name's Anna Mikaelson, I believe," Mr. Black said. "So, can I bring her in? Business has been a bit slow lately. Apparently my reputation precedes me."

"Wait!" Lenora said, her eyes widening. "Grandma Astrid, he's talking about Aunt Anna!" She turned and narrowed her eyes. "You can't take my Aunt Anna to your bad place!"

"Exactly," Astrid nodded. "I'm sorry if your business has been slow, but that's no reason to interfere with other species."

Mr. Black grinned. "Oh, yes?" He said. "Try and stop me." And then, before Lenora or Astrid could do anything, he disappeared.


	3. Go Ask Alistair

"Grandma," Lenora asked Astrid, "Who was that man?"

Astrid sighed. "His name is James Black, my darling. He's always been a bit of a problem for us. He's got a dark soul."

"Did he..._kill _someone?" Lenora asked, her eyes wide.

"Yes," Astrid nodded. "A long time ago. But we don't speak of it now. That's how bad what he did was."

Lenora nodded and then took her hand out of Astrid's. "I have to go to the bathroom," she said. "Where is it?"

Astrid pointed. "Just down the hall there."

"All right," Lenora nodded. "I'll be back soon."

But she didn't have to go to the bathroom, not really. She began roaming around the halls until she found the man again, idling by a drinking fountain with a cigarette in his teeth. "Hey," she said. "What did you do that was so bad nobody talks about it?"

He removed the cigarette from his mouth. "What are you doing here? Didn't your mum teach you not to talk to strangers? I could hurt you, you know, and no one would be any the wiser."

"I don't know about that," Lenora said. "I'm a big girl. I can take care of myself. Now, what did you do?"

"I killed a woman," he said. "She asked me annoying questions just like you're doing. If you don't want me to hurt you, I suggest you just scamper back to your grandmother."

Lenora bared her teeth, grabbing his throat. "And if you don't want me to hurt _you_," she said, "I suggest you tell me what you _really_ did and stop lying to me!"

But he wasn't scared at all. "How interesting," he said with a grin. "What type of creature are you, anyway?"

Lenora's anger faded away when she realized that it wouldn't do her any good. "I guess I'm lots of things," she said. "Witch, vampire, I've got some werewolf in me too, I think, but my mom stopped that from doing anything for me when I was born."

"Your mother?" He said, looking interested. "She just got shipped off to have her powers taken away, poor dear."

"Yeah," Lenora nodded. "Cause she turned my father into a rabbit and wouldn't let me learn how to use my vampire powers. Well, that's actually not the reason. It's cause my father took my sister Lissy to live with my other grandpa and that made Mom upset, so she turned Daddy into a rabbit."

"Did she?" He asked. "And they took her powers away for _that_?"

"Maybe," Lenora said. Then her expression darkened. "Are you _really_ gonna hurt my Aunt Anna?"

He shrugged. "Dear, it's not _my_ fault your grandmother and the others refuse to do their jobs."

"You can't hurt my aunt!" Lenora said. "It's not right! She's not even a witch!"

He grinned. "Who's to stop me?"

"I will," Lenora said.

He burst out laughing. "You? But you're just a little girl! What can you do against me?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. But I'll think of something. And you'll hurt from it."

"All right," he said. "I won't hurt your Aunt if you'd be willing to make a deal with me."

"What sort of a deal?" Lenora asked.

"You're a powerful girl, aren't you?" He asked.

Lenora nodded. "I suppose. Why does _that_ matter?"

"Well," he said, "I could use your help where I live. If, when you're a little older, you come and help me, I'll spare your aunt. What do you say?"

Lenora thought a moment. "I don't know," she said. "My grandma wouldn't like me making deals with somebody like you. She says you're a bad man."

"Am I so bad if I'm willing to spare your aunt?" He asked, sticking his hand out to shake hers.

Just then, they heard Astrid calling. "Lenora?" She yelled. She sounded worried. "Lenora, where in the world are you?"

"Sounds like she's coming," he said. "You don't have much time to make a choice. So what will it be? Take the deal and spare your aunt, or listen to Granny and your aunt endures an eternity of torture and misery?"

Astrid's footsteps were coming closer. Mr. Black grinned. "Tick tock, tick tock!"

Finally, just as Astrid was about to reach them, Lenora took his hand. "Okay!" She said. "I'll take your deal!" They shook on it and then he grinned. "Nice doing business with you, dear."

Just then, Astrid came upon them. "Oh, here you are, Lenora! Are you all right? Don't you go running off for long periods of time without telling me. It's easy to get lost here."

"Aren't you going to thank me for keeping track of your wayward granddaughter, Astrid?" Mr. Black asked as Astrid grabbed Lenora's hand and led her away.

"No," Astrid said. "Because knowing you, you probably encouraged her to get lost in the first place."

"You're welcome," he called after her. She didn't reply.

* * *

Klaus woke up in the rocking chair in Lissy's room the next morning and looked down. A still sleeping Lissy was in his lap and her drool was on his shirt. Sighing, he put her in her crib and then went back to his room to look for Selina, to tell her where he'd been in case she was looking for him. When he reached his room, he found no one, but there was a piece of folded paper on his pillow. He picked it up and unfolded it. It was a note.

_"Don't worry," _it began, _"I'm not worried about where you were last night. I know you were up with Lissy. It's okay. I went through the same thing Colin. I am so proud of how well you're doing with Lissy. It's strange. I never thought that we would be living a life where we were surrounded by so many children and handling it competently, but here we are. And yet we're still able to find time for ourselves. I guess we'll have to thank Alistair for that someday. Sigh. Keep up the good work, Nicky. I know you will and that Felicity is gonna grow up to be a very strong and capable young lady._

_Lots of love,_

_Guess Who?"_

Klaus grinned and slowly put the note back on his pillow. He left his room and went into the kitchen, where he found Laura, Colin and Selina eating. "Morning," Selina said. "How's your neck after sitting with Lissy in the rocking chair all night? Is okay, or do you want me to rub it?"

Klaus shut his eyes tight, thinking about how it wasn't his neck he wanted her to rub. "No, thank you," he said. "It's fine. By the way, I found a lovely note on my pillow from a mysterious person. Selina, do you have any idea who it could be from?"

Selina grinned. "I don't know. But it must be from someone who_ really _likes you."

Klaus looked at the grin on her face. She was clearly very proud of what she'd done and waiting for him to express a similar sentiment to the ones she'd expressed in the note. But he couldn't do that. At least not right here at this moment.

"Well, whoever that was," he got out, "I might just have to write them something equally nice, shouldn't I?"

"Oh, you don't have to," Selina told him, coming to rub his shoulders. "That person just wanted to give you a little positive reinforcement. That's all." She kissed the top of his head. "Did you want me to go get Lissy, or do you want to do it?"

Klaus stood up. "I'll do it," he said. "You go ahead and sit." He got up and went to Felicity's room, coming back with her a few minutes later. She was a good distraction for him. He'd ask Alistair what to do about Selina's note later.

* * *

Klaus went to the office where Alistair was stationed and knocked on the open door.

"You don't have to do that," Alistair told him. "You can just come in. What can I do for you?"

"Selina gave me this note," Klaus said, handing it to him. "Read it."

Alistair took it and read through it. "Well, that's nice," he said afterward. "What's the problem?"

"Do you think it's some kind of joke?" Klaus asked.

"Why would it be?" Alistair asked.

"Well, as you know, we've never had being romantic or being 'in love' as high priorities in our relationship and now it appears Selina wants to move that way. If this isn't a joke, that is," Klaus finished.

"I don't think it's a joke," Alistair said. "I think she was just trying to pay you some nice compliments and let you know she appreciates the progress you're making. So are you going to give her a note back?"

Klaus shrugged. "I could. But I don't know what I would say!" He paused. "You're good with words. You write it for me!"

Alistair shook his head. "No, this note is for _your_...whatever you'd prefer to call Selina, and _you_ need to do it! It won't mean anything if it comes from anyone else."

Klaus sighed. "All right," he said. "I'll try, but it will just make her laugh."

"No," Alistair said. "I don't think that's true. I think she'll be pleased that you made an effort. And you aren't as bad as you think. I remember the letters you used to send to women. Even if you didn't necessarily mean the words in them sincerely, some of them were full of poetry."

"Yeah," Klaus nodded. "Exactly. I didn't mean them. But now I _will _be meaning them and that makes it harder!"

"Well listen to you!" Alistair said in amazement. "You finally found a woman who makes you feel the need to write a meaningful love note. Imagine that."

"Well," Klaus said, taking the note back, "just because I feel the need, that doesn't mean I'll do it well. But I'll try."

Alistair nodded. "Good for you. And good luck."

* * *

Once Klaus left Alistair, he got a pen and some paper, and a bottle, and then holed up in Felicity's room. He took her out of her crib, fed her and put her in his lap. "I need you to help me," he told her. "I want to write someone I love very much a letter, but I don't know what to say. So I'll just write and you listen, okay?" He tickled her under the chin and she giggled. He put her on her back on the bedroom floor and stroked her tummy and then started writing.

"_I know we've never really been romantic, or anything, but perhaps it's about time we started. Or at the very least, I got some feelings out. I like you. You're one of the few people in my life who actually understands me. You see me at my worst and you don't run away. You let me be who I am and don't make me feel ashamed. You're beautiful. You're kind, you're strong, and I don't know what I'd do without you._

_If you think this sounds too much like something out of a bad movie, I apologize. I do, however, mean every word and am not going to take back any of it._

_Nicky"_

He put the pen down and was considering whether he wanted to write any more when suddenly, he heard a knock on the door. "Hi," Selina said. "Everything okay in here?"

"Yes," Klaus nodded as he instinctively covered his letter. "Why wouldn't everything be okay? I don't need help taking care of Lissy, you know that. Go do something useful with yourself!"

"Well, okay," Selina told him. "Fine. Sorry I bothered you. I think I'll go visit your sister. I haven't done that in awhile."

Klaus nodded and she left. He then breathed a sigh of relief and uncovered his letter, looking it over. It was good, he decided. At least for a first letter. He didn't need to write any more.

* * *

"What do you want?" Stefan asked when he opened the door and saw Selina standing on the other side.

"What I usually want when I come over," Selina told him. "Can I come in, or not?"

Stefan moved aside. "Come in," he said. She came in and he followed her. "You know what?" He asked. "You should be ashamed of yourself. Are you?"

"Why?" Selina asked. "Why should I be ashamed of myself? What have I done?"

"You've ruined my best friend. That's what you've done!" Stefan told her. "He used to be fun and now he's just a big softie. It's all your fault! Being with you ruined him!"

Selina smirked at him. "It's a little hypocritical for you to judge him for softening due to being in a relationship," she said. "As I recall, you did that when you were with Elena, didn't you? Just so she would love you and think you were the perfect boyfriend?"

Stefan growled. "_That_ was different!" he said.

"How?" Selina asked. "Well, actually," she amended, "There are _a few_ differences between my relationship with Nicky and yours with Elena: I actually care about Nicky and I don't encourage him to be someone he's not just to fit my ideal of what a boyfriend should be. Elena did that with you. Don't deny it."

"But you _are_ trying to make him turn into an ideal!" Stefan said. "That's why all he does is boring stuff like fishing. I don't know _how_ long it's been since I've seen him kill someone."

Selina scoffed. "Well, you missed the whole fiasco with Helene, didn't you? He broke her legs and pushed her down a flight of stairs. It was awhile before Alistair found her."

"I suppose that's a start," Stefan said. "Why did he do it?"

"Because she mistreated Felicity and that upset him," Selina said.

Stefan groaned. "Why does he _always_ have to do things for the sake of that little rugrat now? Why can't he just do things for the fun of it, like he used to?"

"Because Adrian asked him to watch Felicity," Selina said calmly. "And he sees this as a chance to make up for all the time he lost with Lucy and our other children. It has nothing to do with me. It's all him. Now, I know you and Anna will never have children of your own, so you won't understand completely, but _that_ is what is causing the change in him and there's nothing you can do about it."

"What are you two snapping at each other about now?" Anna asked, appearing quite suddenly.

"He's accusing me of ruining Nicky," Selina said. "He thinks Nicky's gone soft and it's my fault."

"He has!" Stefan said. "Last time we went out, our original plans were to go to a club, but then he changed his mind at the last minute and we went fishing instead! It's so _wrong_!"

"I personally have nothing against you _not _going clubbing," Anna said. "At least not without me. I never liked the idea of having a bunch of boozy, scantily dressed women near you."

"Oh, come on!" Stefan said, putting his arms around her. "You know I only use them for food. Nothing else."

"Just make sure you keep doing that," Anna warned. "Otherwise, I am going to be _very_ upset." She looked at Selina. "So what's the problem now?"

"What do you mean?" Selina asked.

"You only come over to complain about my brothers anymore. You're here, so obviously one of them's done something. What is it?"

Selina sighed. "I came into Felicity's room and Nicky was in there and he was writing something, but when he saw me, he covered it up, like he didn't want me to see what it was. What do you think he could be keeping from me?"

Anna shrugged. "I don't know. Don't ask me."

Selina sighed. "Are you mad because Nicky and I are together again?"

"_I'm_ mad because you and Nik are together again," Stefan put in.

"Yeah, but nobody asked you, did they?" Selina replied. Stefan gave her a sour look.

Anna sighed. "Look, if you think Nik is up to something, go ask Alistair. I'm sure he'd know, cause Nik tells him everything. And if you ever want to see me for anything other than free advice about my brothers, don't hesitate to give me a call."

Selina nodded. "Fine," she said. "I will. But if this is you being upset about me giving up on Elijah, may I remind you that he's not here, we don't know how long it will be until he comes back, and I'm not willing to wait who knows how long to have sex." She left, slamming the door behind her, and Anna turned to Stefan. "I think we should work on getting some new friends," she said. "Don't you?"

* * *

After Selina left Anna's, she stopped at the bookstore, the mall, and the coffee shop before heading home. After putting her shopping bags in her room, she got out the vacuum and began vacuuming the living room, trying to drown out the whirring of the vacuum with her loud rendition of "Livin' On A Prayer". Not long after she began, though, Alistair and Klaus came in to the living room.

"Selina," Alistair said. She made no signal that she heard him. "Selina?" He repeated. Still no response. Finally, he shot some magic toward the vacuum that made it emit a loud popping noise that caused Selina to start violently and fall against the fireplace, causing a candle and a framed object to fall on top of her. She covered her head and curled into a ball. When everything had settled, Selina moved her hands and stood up. "What did you have to do that for, Alistair?"

"Well, you were making an awful lot of noise and I couldn't get your attention any other way," he explained. "Are you hurt?"

"You would think I would be, what with stuff falling on me and everything, but I think I'm okay. Did I interrupt anyone's nap? Where's Nicky?"

"Right here," Klaus said. He gave her a hand and pulled her to her feet.

"Thanks," she said. She turned around and picked up the candle and the other object that had fallen on her. It was a brief letter framed in gold. Selina read it over and gasped. "Oh, my god," she whispered. She looked over at Klaus, tears resting in her eyes. "Did you write this yourself?" She asked.

"Yes," he nodded, flushing a little. "I did."

"Well," she read it over again. "I really don't know what to say."

"Because you're stunned by how horrible it is?" Klaus asked. "Or...?"

"No, no!" Selina shook her head. "I think it's so sweet, thank you. But you really didn't have to."

He nodded. "I know, but...I wanted to, even though we've not talked about being romantic or anything like that."

Selina sniffled and smiled. "Well, do you think that maybe we could work on giving it a try?" She asked. "I mean, we'd still do all the sex stuff, of course, because that's what we do, but there'd also be, you know, _more _than that."

Klaus nodded. "All right," he said. "If you're willing to put your trust in me, I don't see why not."

* * *

"So," Selina panted as she rolled off Klaus after her last orgasm that night. "How do you suppose we begin our new found love-filled relationship? Do you think it's about time we started looking for wherever it is Mikael is storing Elijah? Or maybe just looking for Mikael himself so we can beat the shit out of him for daggering Elijah and making me as good as a widow?"

"Definitely," Klaus nodded. "But, I have a feeling it won't be easy. Mikael probably realized the second he put the dagger in Elijah that eventually _someone_ would try and retaliate."

Selina scoffed. "Well, he had good instincts, didn't he? How do you suggest we start looking for him? He's probably not at his house anymore. It would be stupid if he was. And for all his bad qualities, unfortunately, being stupid isn't one of them."

"And I don't know who we can ask for help," Klaus said. "Because Elijah was the closest person to him and he's gone."

"So I guess we'll just have to pick one place to start and go from there," Selina said. "I don't care how long it takes. At some point, I will beat him senseless, even if it kills me."

Klaus kissed her. She grinned and her arms went around him as she made her usual noise of contentment.

"Interesting that you hug me now after sex and make that happy noise," he said. "You never used to do that."

"Sorry," Selina said, flushing a little. "If it's annoying, I'll stop."

"No, it's not!" he said. "It's part of your charm!"

Selina sighed and snuggled up against him. "Well," she said, "If we're gonna start the long job of looking for Mikael tomorrow, we might as well get our rest," she said. "We know it's gonna take us more than a day."

Klaus put his arms around her and shut his eyes. "All right, love," he said. "Good night. Sleep well."


	4. Rip Out My Heart

"I've done something bad," Lenora said to Daniel. She'd finally decided to tell someone after two years of silence. "And I can't tell my grandparents about it. They'd be so disappointed in me."

"Well, what did you do?" Daniel asked. "I'm sure it can't be that bad."

"Yeah," His father the cat said. "I got turned into a cat for the bad thing I did. Is it as bad as that?"

Lenora swallowed. " Two years ago, I made a deal with Mr. Black to save my aunt," she said. "That's bad, right?"

"You've got some gumption, kiddo," Tobias said. "No one's voluntarily gotten involved with Black since that woman of his and we all know _that_ had a bad ending."

"I was just trying to save someone in my family," Lenora told him. "So should I ask Grandma Astrid to take me to work again? See if maybe I can snoop around and find a way out of it?"

"It's worth a shot," Daniel shrugged. "Good luck."

* * *

"Are you sure you don't need me to take you to school today?" Lucy asked Lenora the next day.

Lenora shook her head. "I'm going to work with Grandma Astrid again. She said it was okay."

"Well, all right," Lucy said. "But don't do this too much. We can't have you missing a lot of school."

Lenora nodded and left the house to get in Astrid's car.

"Now tell me," Astrid said once they were sitting in it, "Why do you want to go to work with me again?"

"It's interesting," Lenora said. "Isn't that a good enough reason?"

"Did something happen between you and Mr. Black?" Astrid asked. "Did he force you into anything? Because if he did-"

"No!" Lenora got out. "I just want to have another look at stuff. But incidentally, if someone wanted to _contact_ Mr. Black, how would they do it?"

"I won't tell you," Astrid said. "You're not going anywhere near James Black."

Lenora pouted. This wasn't going well.

"Looking for me?" Asked a voice beside her. She gasped. James Black was sitting beside her in the car. "Don't worry, dear. Your grandmother can't hear us. She doesn't know I'm here."

"I just need to know one thing," Lenora said. "Tell me where you live, and how to get there."

James grinned. "You're an eager little thing, aren't you? Maybe I should just enact the deal now."

"I don't want to find out where you live so I can start the deal quicker!" Lenora corrected. "I want to find out where you live so I can try to _end_ the deal!"

"Well, you _could_ end the deal," James told her. "I wouldn't do anything to stop you. But then I'd have to go after your aunt. That _was_ my part of the deal and if you don't want to hold up your end, I see no reason why I should hold up mine."

Lenora narrowed her eyes and sighed. "I hate you," she said to him.

He grinned back. "I know you do," he said and disappeared.

"Who were you talking to back there?" Astrid asked. "If that I had gone on another minute, I would have interrupted you."

"No one!" Lenora said quickly. "I wasn't talking to anybody. Just myself."

"Sounded like a pretty lively conversation," Astrid replied.

"Yeah, well, you know me," Lenora told her, trying to seem nonchalant. "I _do_ have a very lively imagination."

"So, do you promise me you'll stay away from James Black?" Astrid asked. "You'll be much happier if you do. He's a miserable man."

"I promise I'll stay away from him," Lenora told her.

"Good," Astrid nodded. "Your mother is already giving me enough trouble as it is. I don't want to have to worry about you wrecking your life too."

* * *

"I don't know what you're so upset about," Damon said to Lucy. "Lenora seems to be doing all right and you don't always learn _everything _you need to know in life from school. Let's think about how old you were when you quit going."

"That was a special circumstance!" Lucy said. "It's hard to know what to do about school when you age ten years in two seconds. Lenora is only twelve years old. She still has so much she needs to learn and nothing weird has happened to her that would prevent that."

"So why did you let her go if you're so against it?" Damon asked.

"Well, think about what happened the _last_ time I upset her," Lucy said, standing up and indicating her body. "And that was just because I wouldn't share my peanut butter candy with her at Halloween. If I told her she couldn't go to work with Astrid, she'd probably find some way to be able to do it. It's just easier this way."

"Well, personally," Damon said, picking Lucy up, "I don't think what she did to you the last time was such a bad fate, was it?"

"Well, no," Lucy said. "But what with Helene being gone and my brother just...I don't know what in the hell he's doing, we're the ones Lenora's got to look up to. I want to make sure she turns out all right."

"And letting her be well-rounded by assuring that she's not always trapped in some drafty, boring school room is the perfect way to do that!" Damon replied. "It was good you let her go with Astrid. And like you said, as long as she doesn't do it too often, what's the harm? She can always catch up on her schoolwork, or use her powers to get good grades."

"No she won't," Lucy shook her head. "She'll work hard and earn her good grades just like everyone else in her class. If she doesn't do that, where's the sense of accomplishment, really?"

"You don't need to be so protective," Damon told her. "She's twelve, not five." He put her down.

"I know she's twelve," Lucy said. "And that is a _big _reason to watch her school habits and have her be more focused on education than anything else. She's almost a teenager. If we let her get too lazy, she'll start hanging around with bad crowds and smoking or doing drugs or something."

"You mean she'll be like your mom was when she met your dad?" Damon asked.

"Exactly!" Lucy nodded. "Mom had no real direction and her whole sense of self-worth was external because her whole life, society told her that the only way she could be happy was if she had the love of a man. Not by being smart or anything. And when she was unable to acquire what society thought she needed to have to be a fully realized woman, she went psycho. Not that I can be _too_ critical of that because if she hadn't, she wouldn't have met my dad and I wouldn't have been born, but you get my point."

"Yeah," Damon nodded and put his hands on both her cheeks, looking into her eyes. "But you're going to drive yourself insane if you keep worrying like this. Now, you have two choices. Either go to your studio and paint or sleep with me."

"Well," Lucy began. "I, um..."

Damon's eyebrow went up. "You have to think about this? Seriously?"

"No," Lucy shook her head. "Not really. I guess I could use some cheering up."

Damon grinned. "Well, all right then," he said and picked her up. He carried her to their bedroom, put her down on the bed and locked the door, but even so, they could still be heard throughout the house.

* * *

After finishing an awkward conversation with her mother on the phone in Astrid's office, Lenora took advantage of the fact that Astrid was in a meeting to once again wander aimlessly through the halls of the council building. She passed several doors until she decided to go down a long, dark hallway and see what was there. She paused by a tall door that said "**Records"** in strong black letters. She put her hand on the doorknob and then heard a voice behind her.

"If you're looking for the bathroom again," he said, "this isn't it."

Lenora turned. "What are you doing here?" She asked James. "Don't you have to be somewhere else torturing people?"

James shrugged. "It's like I told you; business is slow. There aren't a lot of people for me to look after."

"So you're entertaining yourself by following me?" Lenora asked. "Why? I'm so boring!"

"Well, you'll pardon me for saying so, but now that I know you'll do anything to get out of our deal, I'm going to be watching you awfully closely to make sure I don't get cheated. You haven't told anyone about our deal, have you?" He asked.

"I might have mentioned it to my friend," Lenora said. "Why?"

"I suppose it's all right for you to tell your little friends," James said. "They can't do anything against me. But it was smart of you not to tell your grandmother. You breathe a word of this to her or any of the other council members, and-"

"I know, I know!" Lenora said impatiently. "Aunt Anna dies!"

He nodded. "You got it."

Lenora looked at the door again. "Do you know what kinds of records are in here?" She asked him.

He shrugged. "Not really. Court records, I would guess. Room's probably full because they spend way too much of their time prosecuting everything in sight instead of just leaving people alone. You probably won't even fit."

"Is a record of _your_ trial in there?" Lenora asked. "Will it tell me what you did?"

"I _told_ you what I did!" He growled. "I killed my wife. End of story."

"Well, that just can't be all, can it?" Lenora asked. "There has to be more to it!"

With a growl, he disappeared, leaving Lenora alone to stare at the door. She blinked and pulled it open. The room wasn't full to the ceiling, as James had suggested, but it had a lot of dusty boxes full of yellowing papers in it. Lenora went through the boxes until she found the file labeled ** Black, James.** She carefully pulled it out and slid the box back where she'd found it. She took the papers out and read them.

_The defendant, James Black, is on this day, accused of the murder of his wife, Cynthia. The defendant has confessed to the murder, stating that he was upset his wife was seeing another man behind his back, calling her a 'heartless bitch'. He found them together when he came home early and forced Cynthia to watch while he beheaded her lover, then, without giving her a chance to explain herself, tore her heart from her body, then threw her body in the river._

_"I loved her once," he said. "But she obviously felt nothing for me. She didn't deserve to live."_

_Witnesses have said that the victim was unhappy with her marriage to the defendant, but when she suggested getting a divorce, he refused. To cope with her frustration, she began a relationship with a co-worker that turned romantic. Sensing that nothing she said about ending the relationship would get through to her husband, she stopped caring about the consequences of her actions and she and her lover stole moments wherever they felt like, including at James and Cynthia's house. It was during one of these liaisons that the murders occurred._

Lenora let the paper flutter to the floor. "Oh, my god," she whispered to herself. She opened the record room and found James standing outside. "Read anything interesting in there?" He asked with a grin.

"You're insane, aren't you?" Lenora asked.

"Maybe," he said. "And maybe you should have realized that before you made a deal with me."

"But you pulled out your wife's _heart!_" Lenora said, feeling disgusted.

"Yes, and the council pulled out mine and banished me to the lovely place I live now. Then they moved on to meddling with someone else. That's what happens," James told her. "If you don't like the truth, then maybe you shouldn't have gone looking for it. Ignorance, my dear girl, truly _is_ bliss."

* * *

Klaus opened the front door of the house and stepped inside. "Hello?" He called. "Anybody home?"

Suddenly, a flash of came toward him.

"Dadeee!" Felicity yelled. He picked her up and she gave him a kiss. even though she was dripping wet and naked. "Hi, pet," he said. "Where's your mother?"

"The potty," she said.

"Actually," Selina said, "I was helping Felicity dry off after her bath when she heard you and and ran off." She took Felicity's hand. "Okay," she said. "We need to get you dried off so you won't drip everywhere,."

"No!" Felicity shook her head and attached herself to Klaus' leg. "Daddy do it!"

Selina looked up at Klaus. "I know you just got back, but would you mind?"

Klaus shook his head. "Of course not," he said. Then he got closer to her ear. "Maybe afterward, my darling, I'll give _you_ a bath too."

"Oh, you know I would love that, but I have to get to the bakery like _now_," Selina said. "To drop some stuff off and work for awhile. Laura and Gregory are at school and Colin is with a friend from playgroup, so that just leaves you with Felicity, and you can handle her."

"Yes," Klaus nodded. "I can."

Selina headed out and then Klaus brought Felicity into her bedroom, dried her off, and dressed her.

"So," he said, "What do you want to do now?"

"Tea party!" She chirped.

They were in the middle of it when there was a knock at the door. "Let's go see who that is," he said, picking Felicity up. They got to the front door and opened it to see Stefan looking surprised and disgusted on the other side.

"Oh, my god!" He said, coming and indicating Klaus' outfit, which was one of Selina's dresses and a hat she never wore. "What did you do to yourself? Do you even _know_ what you look like? What the hell is the matter with you?!"

"Tea party!" Felicity said.

Stefan looked at her in distaste. "You're playing with the rugrat. I should have known. Well, there goes my plans for an entertaining afternoon at the club with my best friend." He turned.

"You don't have to go," Klaus said. "You can stay here and have fun with us!"

"I'd rather die," Stefan said.

"I'd offer to let you get drunk first, but I don't think Selina would appreciate us being inebriated around children. And come to think about it, I wouldn't either."

"So where's the benefit for me if I play this ridiculous game with you?" Stefan asked, his eyes narrowed.

"I'll wipe your memory of it afterward," Klaus said. "You'll have no idea that you did it."

"And you're sure this is the _only_ way I'll be able to see you today?" Stefan asked.

Klaus nodded. "Positive."

Stefan sighed. "Fine. But you better be telling the truth about being willing to wipe my memory."

"Would I lie to you?" Klaus asked. "I'm your friend."

Stefan's eyes narrowed. "Friends don't make friends go to tea parties thrown by toddlers."

"Would this be a bad time to mention that you're gonna need a new outfit?" Klaus asked.

Stefan looked down at Klaus' ensemble. "No," he said, backing away. "You can't be serious!"

Klaus nodded. "I am, but remember, I'll make you forget all about it afterward."

"You're lucky you're such a good friend," Stefan said and allowed Klaus to take him into Selina's closet to get dressed for the tea party.

* * *

Selina returned with Colin few hours later. "Nicky?" She called. "Lissy? Colin and I are back!" She didn't get a reply, but as she got closer to Lissy's bedroom, she heard loud giggling. "Are you in here?" Selina asked, opening the door. Then she froze, the sight of Klaus and Stefan wearing her clothes filling her vision.

"Oh, my god," she whispered, trying not to laugh. "Oh, my god!" She burst out laughing, and then, with hands shaking, pulled out her phone to snap a picture to send to Anna.

"Don't!" Klaus said, putting a hand on her arm. "He agreed to do this with me only if there was no concrete evidence of his participation afterward."

"You mean I can't take a picture of both of you to cheer myself up after a long day?" She asked. "Where's the fun in that?"

At that point, Stefan took the hat and the dress off and stood up. "I'm gonna go home," he said. "I've taken this humiliation long enough."

"All right," Klaus said. "Come here." He locked eyes with Stefan and said, "We went to the club today. We had a few drinks and then went back to your house, all right?" Stefan nodded and Klaus looked up at Selina. "Tell Anna what I said so the whole illusion isn't ruined, would you, love?"

Selina was still smirking. "Okay." She sent Anna the text and then Stefan went home.

"Seems like you and Lissy at fun at least," Selina said. She looked down at the dress Klaus had positioned on himself and said, "You know, that looks good on you. It goes well with your eyes."

Klaus laughed. "Well, thank you. I'll keep that in mind. How were things at the bakery? Was business good?"

"Yeah," Selina nodded. "And I got a phone call from someone who told me they wanted me to do some dessert catering for this fancy party they're throwing. I'm so excited!"

"Well, congratulations," Klaus said. He got the dress off and hugged her, and then put Lissy down for a nap.

* * *

Selina had a habit of talking to Colin as she got him ready for bed. She'd started it when he was a baby and as the years had gone on, it had continued.

"What should we talk about tonight?" She asked him as she helped him put on his pajamas.

He shrugged, his brown eyes big. "I don't know," he said.

She pulled his pajama shirt over his head and tucked him into bed. "I know," she said. "I'm gonna tell you something because you'll be the one most likely to actually listen, unlike, say, your brother Gregory. It's been a long time since your daddy's been around and I miss him a lot, but the thing is, I'm starting to remember how much I love your Uncle Klaus too, okay?"

Gregory nodded. "I like him."

"Good," Selina nodded. "Like today, when we got home from the bakery, I found him having a tea party with Lissy and they were just having so much fun and he was actually wearing a _dress _for her. It was adorable. And when I saw that, I felt something inside of me that I can't quite explain. I just...I felt warm inside, you know? I think it was love. I think I love him. And I've never felt that way about anyone before now. I didn't even fell that about Klaus when we were married before. But now..."

And then she heard Klaus' voice at the bedroom door say, "I love you too."


	5. No More Playing Games

"What?" Selina asked. "What did you say?"

Klaus struggled to lock eyes with her. "You heard me," he said. "Please don't make me say it again. The first time was hard enough."

"But you meant it, right?" Selina said to him.

"Why would I say it if I didn't mean it?" Klaus asked. "Don't you remember what was in the note I wrote you?"

"Yeah," Selina nodded. "I remember." She finished tucking Colin in, told him goodnight and then she left his room with Klaus following her. They reached their bedroom and sat next to one another one the bed. "So what are we gonna do now?" She asked.

Klaus shrugged. "I don't know. What do you want to do?"

"Well," Selina said. "I know this will disappoint you, but I really don't feel like doing anything tonight. Not after that. Now I just feel like cuddling."

"Cuddling?" Klaus asked, an eyebrow going up. "You know, people who say what we said to each other can have sex too, you know."

"Do you _feel_ like having sex?" Selina asked. "Honestly?"

"Of course!" Klaus nodded. "Why wouldn't I? Don't you?"

"I don't know!" Selina shrugged. "It just feels so weird, you know, us saying...what we said. And it shouldn't cause it's true and we both meant it, right?"

Klaus nodded.

"But even so," Selina said, "it's still weird." She sighed. "And I don't know why that is. Whether if it's because when I look at you, and I'm with you, I still think of myself as that wild, crazy person who wasn't looking for love at all, or if it's just something else."

They sat in awkward silence for a few seconds and then Klaus stood up. "You take the bed," he said. "I'll go spend the night in your spare bedroom."

"What?" Selina asked. "Why?"

"Because I don't want you to think I'm gonna make you do something you don't feel you wanna do," Klaus said. "Good night."

"Wait just a minute!" Selina strode over and gently grabbed his wrist. "Don't you run off on me like that. What's the matter?"

Klaus cast his eyes down. "One of the reasons why you and I came together, even in the beginning, was that we'd both been rejected so many times. We know what it feels like and we know that it hurts. We've taken this big step of saying...what we said and now..." He trailed off.

"Now what?" Selina asked. "Nicky, do you think I'm rejecting you?"

"Well, let's see," Klaus said. "I tell you what I told you and then all you want to do is cuddle. What am I supposed to think?"

"Not that I'm rejecting you, that's for sure," Selina said. "Come here." She held her arms out.

Klaus, however, stayed by the door.

"Oh, come on!" Selina said. "Have we depended on sex so much as a way to show affection to each other that the other ways don't count? We're gonna have to fix that." When Klaus still didn't move, Selina said, "all right, I'll come to you."

She strode over to him and threw her arms around him. He tensed at first, but then slowly relaxed. "I'm not rejecting you," she said. "I'll never do that again."

"Are you sure?" Klaus asked. "What about when Elijah comes back?"

"We don't know if he will," Selina said. "Let's just cross that bridge when we come to it."

"Yeah, right," Klaus scoffed. "Or you'll throw me off the side of the bridge into the water."

"What?" Selina asked, looking surprised. "Why would I do that?"

"Be honest," Klaus said. "Why are you with me, really? Why do you come to bed with me every night?"

"Because I love you," Selina said. "I told you that."

"That could be one reason," Klaus nodded. "But could another reason be that I'm the only one here you can fuck and after a year and a half you just _had_ to deal with the itch you can't scratch?"

"_You_ were the one who had Laura move my stuff in here," Selina told him. "I never asked you to. You needed me to scratch an itch for you too! And I thought that would be all and everything would be as shallow as it usually is, but then you took Felicity in and decided to raise her and you're doing a good job and it's making me want more out of us and I hate it! Cause you're right! Elijah is still a factor and he'll probably show up the second you and I get really, _really_ serious, and then everything will be ruined because Elijah's gonna guilt me into going back with him and I'll do it because I feel so damn guilty about sleeping with you while I was technically still married to your brother."

Klaus nodded. "Mikael _would_ let Elijah out of his box when you and I were at our most serious. That _would_ be his idea of a good joke."

They lapsed into silence again, until Selina asked, "So what do you want me to do? Do you want me to stay in here, or do you want me to go?"

Klaus looked at her and sighed. "I think you'd better go," he said.

Selina went to the door, put her hand on the doorknob and was about to turn it, when her hand paused on it. "No," she said, turning around. "I'm not gonna go." She walked back to the bed.

"Why not?" Klaus asked. "You should. I asked you to."

"Well, what will that prove if I do, Nicky?" She asked. "What will it accomplish?"

"It'll stop me from having sex with a woman who will one day leave me for my brother," Klaus said.

"Why are you so sure of that?" Selina asked. "Has it occurred to you that I _won't_ throw you under the bus for your brother?"

"I don't believe you," Klaus said. "You've done it before. In '29. It was one of the worst moments of my life when the stationmaster handed me your note. The least you could have done was tell me you were leaving in person. I thought we'd gotten close enough for that."

Selina sighed. "Even if I _had _come to the train station to tell you in person, that wouldn't have been the end, Nicky. You would have found some way to make me stay when the best thing for me to do at that point was to get away from Mikael by whatever means necessary. Being constantly on the run is no kind of life."

"Well, being without the person who makes you feel whole is no kind of life, either," Klaus said. "Think about how much misery you could have saved yourself if you'd just taken a chance."

Selina shrugged. "It might have served me well, but I missed the chance and there's no point in dwelling on it. But what it should tell you is, people can't force me to do anything I don't want to do."

"But you just said Elijah would guilt you into it," Klaus told her.

"I don't know _what_ will happen when Elijah comes back, but I _will_ fight for you," Selina said to him. "I won't make the mistake of leaving you again, because whether you believe me or not, I _do_ love you. I know what it's like to be without you and I don't want to go through that experience again."

"Prove that," Klaus said. "Prove to me that you love me. It's going to take more than just words and promises now."

Selina put her arms around him again, kissed his forehead and lay her head on his shoulder. "How's this for a good start?" She asked.

* * *

"Please tell me that pulling out your wife's heart was not_ all _you did," Lenora told James the next day. He'd shielded himself again so only she could see or hear him.

"Shouldn't that be enough for you?" He asked. "That in itself is usually enough to scare people away."

Lenora scoffed. "Please. You know, I have an uncle who can do that with his eyes closed. There has to be more to the story."

"It's none of your business," James said.

"Everybody else knows and I don't, so just _tell _me!" Lenora ordered. "I probably won't be around to find out after today, cause Aunt Lucy will make me go to school instead."

James grinned. "All in good time, dear. Now, if I'm not mistaken, your grandmother's meeting is almost over. You best be getting back to her because if she finds out what you're doing, she'll never bring you back here and it'll take much longer for you to find out what you want to know."

"You mean you're planning on telling me?" Lenora asked.

"I won't have to tell you," he said. "When you come to live with me, you'll find out all my dark secrets without people saying a word."

"What do you mean?" Lenora asked. "What do you know that I don't?"

"What if I told you you will be coming to see me soon?" He said. "In, let's say, around three years?"

"I am?" Lenora asked, eyes wide. "Why? What am I gonna do?"

"That information is classified," he said. "If I told you now, you'd be smart enough to avoid doing the thing you're going to do and I can't have that, can I?" He asked with a smirk.

Lenora sighed. "I guess not."

"Don't be upset," he said. "It's just business. You wouldn't hold a grudge against a man who's just trying to stay in business, would you?"

Lenora narrowed her eyes. "I think I have the right to hold it against you since I'm gonna be the _victim_! Tell me what I'm gonna do so I at least have a fighting chance to avoid it. Doesn't everyone at least deserve a chance?"

James thought a moment. "Normally, I wouldn't do this, you understand, but what you're gonna do, it's kind of hard to mess up, especially for a girl as passionate as you. Three years from now, you're gonna meet a boy and you're gonna love him with all your heart, but he won't love you. He'll love someone else." James' grin widened. "That's something to chew over, isn't it? See you later, lassie." And with that, he disappeared.

* * *

"You wouldn't happen to know where my sister is, would you?" Lenora asked Lucy later that day.

"Yeah," Lucy nodded. "Your dad dropped her off at your grandpa's, remember?"

"Can we go?" Lenora asked. "I wanna see her. I wanna see if she's okay after Mom, you know."

Lucy nodded. "I'm sure she's all right, but I'll take you."

They got in the car and drove over to Klaus'. Just as they got inside the door, Felicity came toddling toward them, grabbing Lenora's fingers and shaking them. "Hi lady," she said. "Who you?"

Lenora felt like she was about to cry. "You're okay!" She said, scooping her sister up. "I'm so happy you're okay!"

Felicity let out a screech and then, as Klaus charged into the room to ask what was going on, Lenora sheepishly let her go.

"Sorry," She said to him. "I didn't mean to squeeze her so hard."

"Lucy?" Klaus looked at his daughter. "And who is...?" He pointed at Lenora.

"This is Lenora," Lucy said. "Felicity's sister. I thought the two of you would have met by now, but apparently you haven't."

Lenora strode toward him and studied him closely. "I wonder why my daddy wouldn't let me near you all these years. You don't seem so bad."

Klaus smirked. "Well, let's just say that raising your sister has given me a new outlook on things recently, and perhaps your parents were wise to keep me away from you before."

"I probably could've handled being around you," Lenora said. "Thanks for watching out for my sister. I'm glad she's all right."

"Well, you're welcome," Klaus told her, picking up Felicity. "You're welcome."

"Who you?" Felicity repeated.

"This is your sister, Lissy," Lucy said. "Her name is Lenora."

"Nora," Felicity repeated. She reached for her sister. Lenora took her in her arms, holding on to her. Felicity kissed her cheek. "Love you, Nora."

* * *

"I thought we were going to do something fun," Stefan said to Klaus. "And yet, here I am at some dive with you and the rugrat because all you do is bond with her." He frowned and grudgingly sucked some spiked Pepsi out of a straw in the cup he held. "Why can't you just give her to Selina once?"

"Because it's my job to raise Felicity," Klaus said. "If Adrian had wanted his mother to raise her, he would have asked her, but he asked me."

"That's no excuse to forget about me," Stefan said. "I never thought you'd abandon me for a woman. Especially not such a little one. Now, if she had boobs and a nice set of legs, well that would be one thing, but..." Just then, a tall, green-eyed blonde entered the McDonald's, holding a small boy's hand. "Excuse me," he said as he went toward her. "I suddenly feel hungry..."

He wandered off and Klaus looked at Lissy. "It seems like grumpy Uncle Stefan finally found a way to entertain himself," he said. "What do you want to do?"

Lissy pointed at the ball pit. "Pretty ball," she said. "Come on!" She attempted to pull Klaus after her, but he picked her up instead and carried her, putting her in the ball pit with three or four other children.

A little boy threw one of the brightly colored balls at her and it hit her on the head. Her face screwed up and she started to cry.

"Don't cry!" Klaus said, cuddling her to him. He handed her a ball. "Here, throw the ball at him. Aim for his head." He helped her aim the ball and threw it with substantial force, followed by another ball, and another. After the third ball hit the little boy, a man who Klaus assumed was the boy's father approached the ball pit.

"Hey!" He said angrily. "Stop throwing balls at my kid! He never did anything to you."

"Your sniveling little brat made my daughter cry," Klaus replied. "And I figure it's never too early to teach a boy how to behave around a girl."

"Get out here!" The man said. "I'll show you what I do to people who mistreat my son."

Klaus extracted himself from the ball pit and climbed out of it. He gave the man a punch in the jaw and then left the restaurant, finding Stefan snacking on the blonde in the backseat of Klaus' car. "Watch Lissy, would you?" He asked. "And stop eating. You're a mess."

"Fine," Stefan sighed, eyes narrowed. "I'll watch the rugrat."

"Thank you," Klaus replied and headed back to the man who was holding onto his nose. "Now," he said. "Where were we?" With his free hand, the man made a clumsy attempt at a punch. Klaus twisted his arm in a way that caused it to break and then snapped each one of the fingers of his right hand, throwing him to the floor. Then, while the man was whimpering and blubbering, Klaus picked him him up and smashed his head through the glass door. Then he got some of the man's blood on his fingers and licked it off, before grabbing a napkin from the dispenser on top of a trash can and cleaning off his hands.

When he reached his car and strapped Lissy in her car seat, he said to Stefan, "We're leaving. You drive."

"Damn," Stefan said dryly. "I was hoping we could stay forever." However, he climbed into the driver's seat without further comment. As he pulled out of the parking lot, Klaus put the woman's body in the trunk, making a note to bury it later.

"How was she?" He asked.

"She was tasty," Stefan replied. "She thought I was cute. Asked if I was married. Don't worry, I said 'yes'."

"Good," Klaus nodded. "I wouldn't think you'd say anything else." He looked at Lissy. "Did you have fun, pet?"

"Yes!" Lissy smiled. "Pretty balls fun!"

Klaus grinned. They were so easy to entertain when they were young. When they were older, not so much.


	6. Keeping A Promise

"So," Selina asked Klaus. "Do you have any sexual fantasies about me? Specific ones, I mean, other than just imagining me naked."

Klaus thought a moment. "Well, there_ is _one thing. And it would really help prove that you want to stay with me if you do it."

"What is it?" Selina asked.

Klaus leaned forward. "I want you to kill someone in front of me. And I want you to enjoy it. I know you can."

Selina eyed him thoughtfully. "All right," she said. "I suppose I could try and do that. The kids aren't little and helpless and it's not _your_ blood I'll be consuming, so I won't have to worry about going to a really bad place. All right," she nodded. "I'll do it.

When they left the house to put their plan into action, Selina said, "Nicky, you'll have to be patient with me. It's been awhile since I caught food the old fashioned way."

"Oh, don't be so worried," Klaus told her. "It's not difficult. It's just like riding a bike. We just have to find someone and and then we'll bring them back to the house, and that will be lunch."

"You make it sound so easy," Selina replied.

"It is!" Klaus told her. "You're just over-thinking. Once we find our victim, instinct will kick in, I promise."

Selina nodded. "I hope so. Because the last thing I want is to look like an idiot in front of you."

Klaus was momentarily taken aback by this remark. But he recovered quickly. "I don't think that's something you have to worry about," he told her. "Because I doubt you'll have any problems at all."

They went to a cafe and stood behind some bushes near a table where a particularly attractive young couple was eating dessert.

"All right," Klaus said. "When they get up, we grab them. You take the woman, I'll take the man."

Selina nodded. "Good idea." They watched a little while longer and when the couple got up, both Klaus and Selina sped over and dragged them away, leaving nothing behind of them but used dishes and cutlery. The man's coffee cup fell to the ground and smashed as he was taken.

They struggled as Selina and Klaus took them into the woods. "Do we really want to go to the trouble of taking them all the way home?" Selina asked. "It might just be easier to eat them here and then we can bury the bodies."

Klaus nodded. "Much more practical. I agree. Let's do that instead." Klaus made quick work of the man, but he was a messy eater and by the time the man was dead, his face and shirt were covered with blood."

"Delightful," he said, wiping the dripping blood off his face with his hand. "Now your turn." He said to Selina.

"No," the woman was crying. "You don't have to do this. Please let me go."

"I'm sorry," Selina said. "But I _do_ have to do this. It's a matter of survival. And if I had to choose between you or myself, I would pick myself every time." Then, she sunk her fangs into the woman's neck, sucking greedily for awhile before coming up for air. "_Wow_," She said in amazement. "I forgot what fresh blood tastes like. So much better than that crap Elijah used to make me drink." She looked at Klaus' intent expression. His eyes were locked on her and the dying woman and they weren't moving. "Drop her," He whispered.

"But I'm not done yet," Selina pointed out.

"Drop her," he repeated. Selina lowered the woman to the ground and and then Klaus strode over and kissed her, licking the blood off her mouth.

"You think she tastes good?" Selina asked.

"Yes," Klaus nodded. "But not as good as you." He was able to back off long enough to let her finish and then the two of them made love in the woods. When they got back, the found Alistair sitting in the kitchen. He took one look at their wrinkled, dirty clothes and just smirked.

"We went out for lunch," Selina said defensively. "Stop looking at us like that!"

"I'm not looking at you in a bad way!" Alistair told her. "I'm just happy things are back to normal, that's all."

* * *

Klaus came into the kitchen a week later and found Felicity sitting at the table and eating cereal, a backpack next to her chair.

"Lissy, what's that for?" He asked.

"I go to kindergarten today!" Lissy said.

"Are you sure you want to go to kindergarten?" Klaus asked. "There could be mean, nasty children there and a teacher who will hit you if you're naughty."

Lissy took another bite of cereal. "That's not what Mommy says. She says my teacher will be nice and I'll have lots of toys to play with and stuff like that. I can't wait for kindergarten!"

Klaus sat down next to her. "How about instead of you going to kindergarten, we go get ice cream? Isn't that better?"

"We can get ice cream after I'm done at school," Felicity said, patting Klaus' arm. "I promise, Daddy."

"What's going on in here?" Selina asked.

"Daddy doesn't want me to go to kindergarten," Felicity said.

Selina sighed. "Well, that's cause Daddy loves you very much and he's gonna miss you while you're away, but we'll pick you up from school when you're done and then he'll see you again." She paused. "Nicky, you want to come with me to drop Lissy off?"

Klaus nodded. "I suppose. Let's go."

When they arrived at the school building, they went inside and found the room. "Okay," Selina said. "Here's your classroom, Felicity. Have a good time today, all right? And learn lots of stuff!"

"I will," Lissy said. She walked to the door, then paused and turned around, running back to Klaus to give him a hug. But when she tried to let go, he wouldn't loosen his grip. "Daddy," she said, "Let me go. You're squishing me! I want to go to kindergarten!"

"Nicky," Selina said sternly, "let Lissy go!"

"No," Klaus shook his head as Felicity struggled in his grip. "If she goes in there, she won't come back! I just know it!"

"Stop making a scene," Selina said through her teeth. "People are staring!"

Suddenly, Felicity relaxed and looked around. "Look, Daddy!" She said, pointing. "There's a bad man over there. He's looking at me funny!"

Klaus frowned and his grip loosened enough so she could get free. "Bye, Daddy!" She said, running into the kindergarten room. "See you after school!"

"Are you gonna be all right?" Selina asked him when they got back home. "Should we do something, or do you just want to be alone?"

Klaus sighed. "I don't know."

"I know!" Selina exclaimed. "I'll call Stefan and tell him you need a distraction. I'm sure he'll be glad to finally have you to himself after all these years."

"If I go with Stefan," Klaus said, "what are _you_ gonna do with yourself?"

Selina thought a moment, then an idea hit her. "There's someone I need to go see," she said. "Don't worry about me."

Klaus called Stefan and after the two of them had left, Selina got in her car and went to Enid's, hoping she'd find out what she wanted to know.

* * *

When she got to Enid's and walked through the door, Roxie got a glass out from behind the bar. "What can I get you, Mom?"

"Nothing, thanks," Selina shook her head. "I didn't come to drink. Have you seen your brother? Where's Adrian?"

"Oh," Roxie said, her eyes cast down. "I don't know if you want to see him right now."

"Why not?" Selina asked. "Is something wrong? Maybe I can help."

"I'm not saying you can't go and see him," Roxie told her. "But what you see will _not_ be pretty. You might just want to save yourself the pain and stay away."

"I don't care," Selina shook her head. "Roxanne, tell me where he is, please."

Roxie sighed. "He got another house," she said. "It's _far_ away from the house he has with Helene. It's like the Playboy mansion. Do you still want to go?"

"Yes!" Selina nodded. "Maybe what Adrian needs is a little cheering up. After all, he _did_ lose his wife and both his daughters. He's probably lonely."

"Oh, yeah," Roxie smirked. "With the stream of female bloodbags he's got going in and out of his house day and night, I bet he's _incredibly _lonely."

"Do you have an address for him?" Selina asked. "And can I have it? Please?"

Roxie scribbled an address down on a scrap of paper. "Here," she said. "And when you see the mess Adrian's made of himself, don't call saying I didn't warn you. Because I _did._"

Selina took the paper, thanked Roxie one more time, then left the bar to go to the address Roxie had given her.

* * *

The house was large, cream-colored, and well-kept, not like the type of place a vampire would go if they were just hiding out. The sound of muffled music could be heard even from outside, as well as the shrill giggles of more than a few women. Cautiously, Selina approached the front door and rang the bell several times before someone actually answered the door. And when the door finally opened, the woman on the other side was a woman with long raven hair in a pink panty set. "Hi!" She said. "Did you come to join the party? You're really overdressed."

"No, dear," Selina shook her head. "I didn't come for the party. I want to have a word with your host. Where is he?"

"He's out back," she said. "Who are you?"

"I'm his mother," Selina replied. "And if you ask me, you shouldn't be throwing your life away being some guy's arm candy. You should be in school, learning things and reaching your true potential. I did _nor_ suffer through all the years of hearing my mother tell me that girls didn't need to be educated, only to keep a home, to see young women like yourself, who have _ all _ the opportunities in the world, throw them away because school is a little extra work you're too lazy to do and it's easier to dance around naked at some guy's pool party while drunken louts stuff dollar bills down your panties. You should be ashamed of yourself."

The girl eyed her balefully and pointed to the back of the house. Selina went out back and found a bunch of similarly dressed girls cheerly wildly while a man chugged what seemed to be his sixth or seventh beer. When it was gone, he held the empty bottle aloft in triumph, stumbled around, and fell into the pool.

"Oh, my god!" Selina said. "Adrian!" She looked around at the women, who were staring worriedly at the pool. "Aren't any of you going to rescue him? Probably not. You'll probably wait until he's dead and move on to your next meal ticket." Rolling her eyes, she quickly removed her coat and her shoes and jumped into the pool, dragging the half-conscious Adrian out of the water and onto the grass. He turned his head, spit up water, vomited and then sat up.

"Mom?" He asked, his eyes out of focus. "What are you doing here?"

"Roxanne said you were a mess and she wasn't lying, was she?" Selina asked. "Stand up, we'll go inside, get you in some dry clothes, and then you will explain to me what the_ hell _you're doing with all these women."

Resignedly, Adrian let Selina herd him into the house. She waited by the closed bathroom door while he showered, and then she threw clothes in to him. "Put those on," she said. "And then I think you and I need to have a talk."

When Adrian emerged, Selina told him to sit on the bed beside her. "Things aren't going well for you, I take it?" She asked.

"Yeah," Adrian nodded, rubbing his temples. "How did you guess?"

"The fact that you seem to be running a sorority house was a clue," Selina told him. "Why are you doing this, Adrian? The behavior is beneath you."

"In case you haven't noticed, all my family is gone!" Adrian told her. "Even my dog! I'm lonely. What do you expect me to do other than this? And I have to eat somehow."

"I expect you to think about _why_ you're in this situation," Selina said. "_You_ were the one who chose not to take a firmer stance against Helene. _You_ were the one who sent Felicity to be in your father's care and _you_ were the one who left Helene and Lenora when Helene was pregnant with Felicity. If you could deal with being without your family then, what's so different now?"

"I don't know _specifically_!" Adrian said. "It just is! Is that what you came all the way over here for? To scold me?"

"No," Selina shook her head. "Actually, what I came to tell you was that Felicity started kindergarten today. Your father didn't take it well at all. Tried to convince her that kindergarten was a bad place and she'd have more fun going out for ice cream instead."

Adrian smiled a little. "Did she fall for it?"

"No," Selina shook her head. "And when we got to her classroom, she hugged him goodbye and he would just _not_ let her go. She managed to trick him into loosening his grip, though, and ran off before he really knew what was happening. I was proud of her for that. Then I brought him home and to stop him from moping, I told him to call Stefan, and the two of them went out. And I came here to tell you."

"Is she growing up all right, Felicity?" Adrian asked hopefully.

"Yes," Selina nodded. "Why haven't you been coming to see her? She calls your father and I 'Mom and Dad' now, just FYI."

Adrian looked down at himself. "Well, I meant to come, but in my current state, I don't think I'd be the best influence. You and Dad would probably do better for now."

Selina pulled her wallet out of her purse and took a picture out of it. "Here," she said, handing it to him. "It's a picture of Felicity we took on her last birthday. I think you should have it. Put it somewhere where you're gonna see it every day."

Adrian nodded and looked at the photo. "She's a pretty girl," he said. "And it sounds like she's got a good head on her shoulders. Thanks for that," he said. "That's all I wanted when I gave her to Dad. Better she grow up sensible than with a crazy mother and a lazy father."

"You won't always be this way, will you?" Selina asked. "You'll try to get better?"

Adrian nodded. "I'll try, but it probably won't get _real_ easy until Helene comes back."

Selina put a hand on his shoulder. "But _try_," she said. "Adrian, you have to. This is not an acceptable way to live."

"I know it's not," Adrian said. "And I'll try to do better. I really will."

"Good," Selina nodded. "I'm so glad to hear that, Adrian."

She was about to go when Adrian said, "And do you know anything about Lenora?"

"No," Selina shook her head. "I think you'd have to talk to Lucy if you want to hear about her."

* * *

"This test is gonna be so _stupid,"_ Lenora said to Daniel. "I have no idea why Miss Kinney made us read the stupid 'Scarlet Letter' anyway. It's just a book about dumb, judgmental, witch-hating Puritans, so why the hell should I care?"

"I sympathized with Hester Prynne," Daniel said. "She was being persecuted just like the witches were. I would have thought you'd be able to sympathize too."

"It doesn't work that way," Lenora said. "I didn't read the book and I'm not gonna take the stupid test. I'm gonna march right up to Miss Kinney and tell her so!"

"Can you really afford to take another 'F' in this class?" Daniel asked. "No offense, but you're probably failing miserably by now." They went into the English classroom and Lenora froze. Standing in front of the chalkboard was not the diminutive Miss Kinney, but James Black. "Hello, Lenora," he said.

"Why are you here?" She asked. "You can't take me now! I haven't done anything wrong!"

"Lenora," Daniel said from behind her. "Would you step further into the room, please?" Lenora took a few more steps and then Daniel saw James. "Who's that?" He asked Lenora. "Our substitute?"

"Yeah," Lenora whispered. "And he just happens to be James Black."

"You mean _the_ James Black?" Daniel asked. "Oh, my god!"

"And you must be young Mr. Potter," James said, striding over to Daniel. "You look so much like your father. I've always wanted to tell him how much I enjoy his work. Would you do that for me?"

"Sure," Daniel nodded. "I guess. Why are you here? I thought you were banished."

"I _am,_ technically," James said. "But business has been so slow lately that I thought it would be best to come and protect the one potential property I _do_ have so I can make absolutely sure nothing goes wrong."

"Who at this school would be dumb enough to make a deal with you?" Daniel asked.

James grinned widely. "Why don't you turn around and ask your little girlfriemd there?"

Daniel turned to stare at Lenora, his jaw dropping. "_You_ made a deal with him? _Why_?"

Lenora sighed. "I have an aunt who, while she's technically not a witch, is able to use dark magic, and she did, and it messed with a relationship, and although no one at the council cared, Mr. Black was gonna hurt her, and he said the only way that he wouldn't is if I made a deal with him."

Daniel sighed. "Have you told your grandmother or anyone about this?"

"No," Lenora shook her head. "And _you_ can't tell them either, now that you know. This is _my _business!"

"If you think I'm just gonna let you do this without saying anything, you're wrong!" Daniel told her. "You're my friend and I don't want anything bad to happen to you."

"Well, isn't that sweet?" James asked, looking back and forth between the two of them. Before either Daniel or Lenora could respond, other kids began to trickle into the classroom. "Looks like the rest of this conversation will have to wait," James said. "I have a class to teach."

* * *

"Is it just me," Klaus asked as he and Selina sped back to school to pick up Felicity. "Or was that the longest waiting period ever?"

"It was only three or four hours," Selina said. "That's not an eternity."

"It seemed like it to me," Klaus said.

"I hope you still paid attention to Stefan when the two of you went out, though," Selina said. "I know you love Felicity and I applaud you for making a solid vow to take care of her, but Stefan is your friend and you shouldn't just let him fall by the wayside."

"I didn't say one word about Felicity when I was with Stefan," Klaus assured her. "I promise."

They reached the school building and went inside again, standing in the hallway, across from the room. Klaus figeted nevously as all of Felicity's classmates streamed out of the room in search of their parents. When Felicity finally appeared, Klaus strode to the door, picked her up, and hugged her hard.

"Careful!" She said. "You're gonna smush up my picture I made for you."

Klaus put her down. "You made me a picture?" He asked. "Let's see it."

Felicity poked around in her school bag until she pulled out a piece of paper that had a picture on it of a stick figure girl with yellow hair and blue eyes. She was curled up against a yellow dragon that had yellow scales and blue eyes. Both girl and dragon looked very happy to be together.

"Lots of the boys drew bad dragons," she said. "But today, we listened to a song about a good dragon who was friends with a boy, but then the boy got older and left the poor dragon all alone. I thought it was sad. Cause he wasn't a _bad_ dragon. He was a good one. Probably the only time he got mean was when someone wanted to hurt him. Is that why you get mean, Daddy? Cause people want to hurt you?"

"Yes," Klaus nodded, picking her up. "Me, you, your mommy, I don't like it when people I love get hurt. I'm glad you had a good time at school today and the picture is beautiful."

Felicity looked back and forth between Klaus and Selina. "Since I made it through kindergarten, can we go out for ice cream now, like Daddy said we would this morning?"

"Sure," Selina nodded.

"I don't see why not," Klaus added. They each took one of Felicity's hands and the three of them exited the school building together, got in the car, and drove away.


	7. It Hurt So Bad

"Why are you acting so surprised about my deal with Mr. Black?" Lenora asked Daniel as the two of them headed down to lunch. "I told you about it. It shouldn't be a surprise to you."

"Well, I know," Daniel replied. "But just _hearing_ that you made a deal with Mr. Black and then actually seeing it with my own eyes are two totally different things. You can't deny something that's in front of your eyes. Well, I suppose you could if you wanted to, but no sensible person would. So what are you gonna do about this? You're not gonna try and get out of it?"

"No," Lenora shook her head. "I made a deal and it would be stupid to back out of it because then he'll just kill my aunt. And I don't want my aunt to be dead."

"Tell your Grandma Astrid about this," Daniel urged. "She'll be able to make sure that everything will end up okay, and your aunt won't be dead and you won't have needlessly thrown your life away."

"Do you think I'm _stupid?_" Lenora asked. "Grandma didn't want me going near James in the first place! Imagine how pissed off she's gonna be if she finds out I made a deal with him? _Really_ pissed off. And then she's gonna have my powers taken away like she did with my mother and she'll send me to wherever Mom is to think about my sins for the rest of my life. I don't want that. So I'm not gonna tell her and _you're_ not gonna tell her either."

"Fine," Daniel said. "I won't tell your Grandma Astrid anything."

Lenora nodded. "Good. Thank you."

"What do you _mean_ Lenora meant it when she said she made a deal with James Black?" Tobias asked. Daniel had told him about Lenora's predicament when she'd gone off to the bathroom.

"Exactly what I said," Daniel told him. "Mr. Black showed up at school a couple days ago, pretending to be the substitute for our English class. On his first day, Lenora and I came in early and that's when everything came spilling out. And she made me promise not to tell Astrid, even though I really want to."

"Well, you have to tell _someone_," Tobias urged his son. "That's the mistake I made with your mother. She got all these wild ideas in her head and made me promise not to tell anyone. I did a few things to help her out and now I'm a cat. At least if you tell on Lenora, you won't get yourself in trouble. No woman is worth that."

Just then, Lenora came back from the bathroom. "What are we talking about?" She asked. Tobias and Daniel looked at one another. "Nothing," they said at the same time.

"Are you sure?" Lenora asked, eyeing them both suspiciously.

"Yes!" Tobias said. "Would we lie to you?"

"I would hope not," Lenora said. "Especially not Daniel. He's my friend."

"So," Tobias asked. "Now that we know the deal with James Black is actually true, are you really gonna go through with it?"

"Well, yeah," Lenora nodded. "I'm not some whiny, overpriviliged baby who makes a mistake and then goes running to some powerful relation to clean up my mess. If there comes a time where I actually break a rule and my punishment falls under James' jurisdiction, I'll go peacefully."

"Why do you keep calling him _James_?" Daniel asked.

"Well, why do I call _you_ Daniel?" Lenora responded. "Because it's your name! Just because I have subjected myself to a lifetime of servitude under a man who's insane does _not_ mean I have to fear him. I'm gonna call him by his name and humanize him and that is that."

"Well all right," Daniel said. "If you think that will help. But just because you humanize him, that doesn't necessarily make him a good person."

"I agree," Tobias said. "If James Black gets a deal he's particularly interested in, he's been known to speed up the process so he'll get what he wants sooner. Watch out for that."

"Especially since he said you're one of the few deals he has in the works," Daniel added. "Didn't he say that?"

"Wouldn't surprise me if he did," Tobias told his son. "Nowadays, people are usually too smart to fall for his act."

"Are you saying I'm stupid?" Lenora asked.

"Why would I think you're stupid for trying to save someone in your family," Tobias told her. "You did what you had to do. I'm only sorry it had such a bad outcome."

* * *

James headed home to his castle that night feeling very drained. His servant Max met him at the door.

"How was your day, sir?" He asked.

"Don't ask," James snapped. "I know you don't care. Tell me, how long has it been since I've had a woman here?"

"I couldn't tell you," Max said. He was heavyset with hooded eyes and thinning dark hair. "But it wouldn't be any trouble for me to bring someone here for you."

James shook his head. "No, thanks," he said. "I already have someone in mind. And by the way, I won't be needing you anymore. The girl I'm bringing, _she'll_ be doing all my housework from now on, among..._other_ things."

Max looked around. "But sir, this is a big house! Surely, there's enough room here for both of us!"

James considered. "How about this," he proposed. "You've just gotten promoted. You don't have to serve me any more. You are now my equal. It will be just as easy for her to serve two people as it will be one."

Max grinned. "How soon is she coming?"

James grinned. "Sooner than you think."

* * *

A week later, a new boy strode into Lenora and Daniel's English class. He had dark hair, dark eyes and a white, engaging smile. He was wearing an olive-green shirt and torn jeans. "Hi," he said, grinning at Lenora and gesturing at the empty seat beside her. "Anyone sitting here?"

"No," Lenora shook her head. "If you want to sit there, go ahead."

"Thanks," he said, sitting down. "My name's Rob. What's yours?"

"Lenora," she said. "A weird name, I know. My mother is a little old-fashioned."

"I'm Daniel," Daniel said, reaching from Lenora's other side. "Nice to meet you."

But Rob ignored him. "So," he said to Lenora. "How is this class? Easy?"

Lenora nodded. "I guess. If you like reading, that is. Personally, I could take it or leave it."

James was standing in front of the blackboard with his back to the class, writing notes on the material, but he paused when he heard Rob and Lenora talking and grinned to himself. The boy wasn't real, but someone he'd created after learning the exact sort of boy Lenora found attractive. It was phase one of a scheme that would get him Lenora and get him Lenora soon.

"Do you need help figuring out the book?" Rob asked her. "I know what _Moby Dick _is all about. If you had lunch with me, I could give you a hand."

"Really?" Lenora asked, her eyes bright. "That would help me an awful lot."

"But Lenora, we usually eat together on Thursdays."

"You're the one who's always scolding me about getting bad grades in English," Lenora reminded him. "Now here Rob is offering to help and you're getting in the way of it? Look, I promise I'll sit with you tomorrow, okay?"

But she didn't sit with him the next day, or the day after that, or the day after that. She and Rob got closer and closer until, as homecoming neared, Lenora became convinced he was gonna ask her to come with him.

"So tell me about this guy," Lucy said to Lenora over breakfast. "He's a good guy, right?"

"Yeah," Lenora nodded. "He's well read and athletic, and sweet and he's got a really nice smile. I just know he's gonna ask me to homecoming!"

"Interesting," Damon said. "Why are you so interested in that all of a sudden? On the first day of school, you said homecoming was a stupid tradition and you weren't gonna go."

"Well, now that there's a possibility a guy might ask me, there's also a possibility I might go," Lenora said. "Okay?"

"Just out of curiousity," Damon said, "This is a _real_ relationship, right? You didn't do anything to get this guy to like you other than be your lovely, charming self?"

"Damon!" Lucy said with disapproval. "How could you ask her something like that?"

"I only ask because I've made that sort of mistake before," Damon said. "And I expect her to be better than me."

"Yeah, it's real," Lenora said. "Real enough that Daniel is getting very pissed off about it for some reason."

"Maybe because _he_ was planning on asking you and now he can't cause you're planning on going with someone else," Lucy said.

"I love Daniel, but I don't think I could ever date him," Lenora said. "He's too good of a friend. It would be weird."

"Don't reject the possibility of being with someone close to you," Damon told her. "I mean, look at your aunt and me."

"I guess," Lenora considered. "Didn't you know each other for like a million years before you actually started dating?"

Lucy scoffed. "He helped Mom _raise_ me for a bit when I was little. And we saw each other a lot because of Sam."

"Have you told me about Sam?" Lenora asked.

"I don't know," Lucy shrugged. "Long story short, he's my twin brother, who was fathered by Damon but who has the same mom as I do."

"Wow," Lenora said. "That's awkward."

Damon nodded. "That's probably why we've hardly seen him since we moved in together. I bet it creeps him out."

"Anyway," Lucy said. "What we're saying is, we'll support whoever you like, but don't be too hard on Daniel, okay?"

"All right," Lenora nodded. "I'll remember that."

* * *

On homecoming night, Lenora stood by the door in her green dress, her long blonde hair curly, waiting eagerly.

"You're not gonna give him some lame overprotective father lecture are you?" She asked Damon.

"Should I have a reason to?" He asked. "I mean I trust you, but with some guys, you never know."

Then, the doorbell rang and Lenora opened it up, deflating when she saw Daniel on the other side, holding a corsage box.

"Why are you here?" Lenora asked. "I mean, I wasn't expecting you. I was expecting someone else."

Daniel nodded. "I know you were, but apparently, this wasn't as important to Rob as it was to you," he said. "He decided to go with Becky Howe."

"What?" Lenora asked, eyes wide. "Becky Howe! Why?!"

Daniel shrugged. "I don't know. I saw them go into the photography lab today and when they came out, their clothes were rumpled and he had her lipstick all over his mouth." Daniel looked down. "Lenora, I'm sorry." Then he brightened up and handed her corsage. "Here," he said. "There's no use letting that pretty dress of yours go to waste. You still wanna go?"

Lenora considered. "Okay," she said at last. "Best let Rob see how _not_ upset I am that he stood me up!"

"That's a good attitude," Damon said. "And if you see her, just smile. You're better than she is."

Lenora nodded. "You're damn right I am!"

When they reached the dance, things were calm until it came time to announce the homecoming king and queen. Rob was crowned king of course, and Becky queen. As Becky kissed Rob, Lenora watched them with clenched fists and a scowl.

"That should have been me up there," Lenora said. "Or at least me with Rob. Why would he do that to me?"

"I don't-" Daniel began, then he noticed Mr. Black standing near the refreshment table, a cup of punch in his hand. "Wait a minute," he said. "I think I might have an idea. Look over there. Remember what my dad said about Mr. Black doing things to get his deals fulfilled sooner. Lenora, don't do anything stupid."

"You're kidding, right?" Lenora asked. "You think I'm gonna stand here and do nothing while the girl who gets everything gets my man too? No."

She aimed her hand at the electronic scoreboard in the gym, which broke loose seemingly of its own power, flew across the gym and smacked Becky hard in the head. She crumpled to the floor, her skull broken.

"Oh, my _god_!" Daniel exclaimed. "Lenora, why did you _do_ that?"

Lenora shook her head, her lip trembling. People began screaming and running for the exits while a chaperone yelled for everyone to exit in a calm and orderly fashion. When it was just her, James and Daniel in the gym, she went over to Becky's broken body, grabbed the homecoming queen tiara off her broken skull and placed it on her own head. It wasn't much of a consolation since Rob was gone, but at least she got to take _one_ thing away from Becky.

"Well, well, well," James said, coming up behind Lenora and clicking his tongue. "What do we have here?"

Lenora looked at the body, but made no effort to hide it. "So?" She said. "What do you want from me?"

"I think you can guess," he said. "You've done a very bad thing. I heard Rob tell Becky he loved her. He even gave her his letterman jacket."

"I don't think I did anything wrong," she said. "Becky didn't deserve Rob! She has every other guy in school. Why should she be allowed to have the guy I like too?" She started to cry and hated herself for crying in front of him.

"There, there," he said, handing her a tissue. "It's not your fault that you had feelings for him. I completely understand that you did what you felt you had to do."

Lenora nodded. "I know, right? So what happens now? Do you take me away?"

"Well, ordinarily there would be a trial, but given the fact that you and I have a deal, I can take you outright. How competent would you say you are at housework?"

"Why?" Lenora asked.

"Well, because that's what you'll be doing," James said. "Caring for me and my housemate.

"Is that what happens to everyone who gets in trouble with you? They clean your house?"

"No," he shook his head. "Normally, I torture them."

"I'm no one's maid!" Lenora said. She stopped crying and put her hands on her hips. "I'm no one's maid and I'm strong enough to take the torture, so bring it on."

James laughed a little. "My, my," he said. "You _are_ a fiery one, aren't you? I think I'll enjoy having you in my house."

"We're just gonna leave the body?" Lenora asked.

"Well, do you_ want _to be here to explain why there _is_ a body?" James asked her.

Lenora shook her head.

"Well, then," he said, "Yes. We're leaving the body here."

Lenora sighed and went up to Daniel. "I have to go," she said. "Tell Damon and Lucy where I am. They'll worry, but it's not like they can do anything about it."

Daniel nodded. "I will."

"And you won't tell Grandma Astrid?"

"No," Daniel shook his head. "Not if you don't want me to."

"All right," Lenora said, hugging him. "I guess this is goodbye, then." She had tears in her eyes and wiped them away.

"Yeah," Daniel nodded. "Goodbye." They hugged one last time, and when James impatiently cleared his throat, Lenora released Daniel and the two of them left the school.

* * *

"So this is your house?" Lenora asked as she and James walked along the drawbridge of an old castle desperately in need of repairs. "And I have to clean it? That's my punishment? No problem. I'll just wave my hands and it will be done in no time. I can't believe you never thought of that!"

"Do you think I'm stupid?" James asked. "Of _course_ if it was possible to use magic here, I would have done that, but it's not, so I haven't."

Lenora froze. "What do you_ mean _it's not possible to use magic here?"

"It's my own private little hell," James said with a bemused grin. "As long as I'm in the house, I have no powers. And neither will you. No powers, just you, me and Max. He's my friend. Not looking like such a cakewalk now, is it?"

"You're just screwing with me!" Lenora yelled. "I _have _to have power! I've never _not_ had power!"

"Well," James said, "we all have to deal with disappointments. If it would make you feel better, I _could_ see about inviting your equally powerless mother here for visits sometimes. I hear she's not dealing well at all, poor thing."

They reached the door and Lenora stood still. "I'm not going in there," she said. "You can't make me." James gave her a look. "Don't do this to me," he said. "You're a pretty girl and I don't want to be meaner to you than I have to be, so why don't you just stroll inside like a good girl and stop causing a problem?"

Lenora shook her head. "Nope, sorry. I'll stay out here, thanks."

Making an angry noise in his throat, James said, "Fine, whatever, damn you," then picked her up, put her over his shoulder, and carried her inside the castle, shutting the door behind them. The two of them walked into the entrance way where Max was stationed. "Hello," he said with a chuckle. "You must be the new housekeeper."

Lenora paused. "Yeah. What of it?"

"Well," Max gestured around the space. "I just wanted to say, 'Welcome home', is all."

"Yes, darling," James whispered in her ear. "Welcome home."


	8. Keep Your Enemies Closer

"So where's my room?" Lenora asked. "It's not too close to yours, is it? And it better not actually _be _yours either!"

"Oh, don't flatter yourself," James said. "What makes you think I'm interested in you? For all you know, when they took my heart away, they took away my need for women too."

"Oh, please," Lenora said. "I doubt that. So, my room? Where is it? Or do I have to sleep in a barn or something?"

"No," James shook his head. "You get a space in the house. If I put you anywhere else, it would just make it easier for you to run away."

A rat suddenly ran across the floor and Lenora let out a shriek and jumped into James' arms. "Nothing to be frightened of," he said. "Just some vermin." Lenora let him go. "Are there a lot of them around here?"

James nodded. "Shooting them is one of Max's favorite pastimes. And the ones he doesn't shoot, they get caught in the traps, which you'll dump outside."

"Can I not?" Lenora asked. "Can't you get Max to handle the vermin?"

James shook his head. "No. What kind of person would I be if I made him take your punishment, hmmm?"

"Take me to my room now," Lenora commanded. She was beginning to feel ill.

He led her up to a small, cramped space wit a very narrow bed and a raggedy red blanket. "You'll sleep here," he said. Lenora's face contorted. "I think I'll take my chances in front of the fire with the rats."

James nodded. "As you wish. You might as well go to sleep now. Your day begins at five."

Lenora's eyes widened. "Five? In the morning?"

"Yes," James nodded, his lips curling. "Five. In the morning."

* * *

Lenora was rudely awakened at five am by having a bucket of water tossed on her. "Oh, my god!" She said, shaking droplets off herself. "What is your_ problem_?"

"I just came to wake you up," James said. He looked down her body and grinned. "You look a little damp."

Lenora glared at him. "If you're up, why can't_ you _do the chores? Or at least some of them?"

"See, I don't think you quite understand the _punishment_ part of this," he said. "You killed a woman. That's wrong. Now you have to face the music and you're doing that by cleaning my house. It's not something where whoever gets up first does the chores. Now get up, Princess."

Lenora glared at him. "I really hate you."

He played with her hair. "You really _do_ look good wet," he said. "It's a shame you have to change. But you'll get a chill if you don't and I can't have you getting ill. That would inconvenience me enormously."

"Yeah," Lenora said, slapping his had away and grudgingly standing up from the floor by the fire. "I can see how my being sick would be an incredible inconvenience for_ you_."

"Actually," another voice said, "if you got ill, I could do the chores. I wouldn't mind."

"Max!" James snapped. "Don't say that to her!"

"Why?" Max asked. "I'm just saying I would do it if she got ill. Which could happen. It wouldn't hurt to have a plan 'B' then."

"Oh, don't be silly, Max. That's never going to happen," James said, his eyes lighting up. "I just remembered that you're a vampire, aren't you? You can't get ill!"

"How do _you_ know?" Lenora asked. "It could be possible for me to be sick since I'm part witch too. It would be a good idea for you to be cautious and just assume that it's possible for me to be ill or otherwise incapacitated."

James grinned. "I'll believe it when I see it."

* * *

A few days later, Lenora was the one who woke James up. Early one morning, he was abruptly awoken when he heard screams and an acrid smell entered his nostrils. The screams soon became shrieks and he ran from his room to the front hearth where he saw Lenora running around the living room. Her nightgown, hair, and parts of her body were aflame. "Max!" James called. "Get some water! Lenora is on fire!"

It took a little while, but eventually, they managed to put out the fire that covered Lenora, but her hair was charred and her arms and legs badly burned.

James looked her over and she grinned. "See?" She said faintly. "Don't you underestimate me, James. You have no idea who you're dealing with."

"Now I do," James said. "If you're willing to set yourself on fire just to get out of some housework, you're clearly insane, aren't you?"

"Does that bother you?" Lenora asked.

James shook his head. "No. It just means we'll have to be more diligent with locking up the sharp objects and keep extra water around in case you decide to burn the castle down, but other than that, once you're healed, it will be back to work bright and early as usual. At least until your next crazy bid for freedom, that is."

"You don't seem too upset by the thought of me making them," Lenora observed.

"I don't mind," James shrugged. "You won't succeed and it lends excitement to my otherwise dull existence."

* * *

Selina came into the kitchen and saw Klaus sprawled out on the floor with his head under the cabinet while he fixed the sink. Smiling to herself, she silently and carefully made her way across the kitchen floor, then gently lowered herself to her knees, unbuttoning and unsnapping his jeans before gently stroking him. He groaned and his body shot upwards. He hit his forehead and swore.

"Oh, my god! Selina cried, trying to suppress giggles. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean for you to bump your head!" She got up and put some ice in a bag, and then as he sat up, she handed it to him. He put it on the bump for a little bit and then stood up. He went downstairs, turned the water back on and grabbed the sprayer on the sink, pointing it directly at Selina. "Let's see if this works now, shall we?" He said. He turned the faucet on and the sprayer soaked her from head to toe, which caused her t-shirt to cling to her body. She wore no pants and no shoes.

"You look very...wet," he said as he pulled her to him.

"Oh, believe me, I am," she said, her voice breathy. He kissed her and backed her up against the kitchen counter. "Why are you dressed like that?" He asked her. "Not that I'm objecting of course, I'm just curious."

"I decided that since I don't have to go into the bakery today, it would be 'no pants' day for me." She grinned. "Would you like to join me?"

Klaus grinned. "Do you even have to ask?" He carried her into their bedroom and the two of them made love until they heard the sound of the school bus outside. Then, they quickly pulled apart and dressed again, heading to the living room. Gregory came in first. He looked at his mother briefly, but said nothing before taking his bag off his shoulders and going to his room. Laura came soon after, holding Colin by the hand. Her greeting was much warmer.

"Hi, Mom. hi, Uncle Klaus!" She said. She took a piece of paper from her backpack. "We're gonna go on a field trip for class," she said, handing Selina the paper. "Mr. Pratt says you have to sign that before I can go."

Colin detached his hand from his sister's and after kissing Selina, ran off to his room. Selina took the paper from Laura and looked it over. "The science museum? How fun!" She grinned. "Are you looking forward to it?"

Laura shrugged. "Maybe," she replied. "But it might be boring."

"You know," Selina told her. "I would have killed to be able to go to a science museum when I was your age."

"Why didn't you?" Laura asked. "Did your mom say no?"

Selina scoffed. "That would have been nice if she'd only said that, but she was much more adamant than she needed to be. And we didn't exactly _have_ science museums when I was a girl. I wasn't even allowed to learn most of the stuff you're learning at school."

"Why not?" Laura asked.

"Because I was a girl," Selina told her. "No other reason than that."

"That doesn't seem fair," Laura said.

"It wasn't really," Selina said. "So even if you think the science museum will be boring, you should go and be grateful that you're even allowed to." She deftly signed the form and handed it back to Laura. "Put that somewhere safe so that you don't lose it before you get to school tomorrow."

Laura nodded and put it in the front pocket of her backpack. "I think I'll go do my reading assignment now," she said. She strode off and then Selina turned back to Klaus, who was trying his hardest not to laugh.

"What?" Selina asked. "What's so funny?"

"Did you hear yourself?" He asked what was that little speech about?"

"Nothing!" Selina replied. "I just wanted her to be grateful for all the opportunities she has now. Some of us weren't so lucky."

"So that speech is your equivalent of 'eat your dinner because there are starving children in Africa who don't get any'?" Klaus asked.

Selina shook her head. "No, I just...I want Laura to experience everything she can, you know? So she's aware of all the possibilities for her future. I know it's silly to dwell on my less than ideal childhood, especially when things are so good for me now, but sometimes I can't help it. Am I wrong for not wanting my kids' lives to suck?"

Klaus came and put his arm around her and she rested her head on his shoulder. "You don't have to be sorry," he said. "I know what that's like too."

Selina nodded. "I know you do." She sighed. "At least we have each other to share crappy childhood stories with, right? And make better ones in the present?"

Klaus grinned. "Oh, I like that last thing you said." He kissed her hair. "So," he said. "What are we gonna do about Mikael?"

"What?" Selina asked. "That's an abrupt change of topic."

"Sorry," Klaus said. "But I thought now would be a good time to start thinking about it now that we don't have any small children around that have to be looked after any minute. They're getting to the age where they can handle themselves better, so we need something to occupy our time. What better way than pondering how we're going to go after Mikael. Have you forgotten?"

"No," Selina shook her head. "Believe me, I haven't forgotten. But how would we come up with a plan? We don't know where Mikael is, for starters! Or how to figure it out!"

"I know," said a quiet voice. They both looked over and saw that Laura had sneaked to the edge of the hallway to the bedrooms with her hand gripping the wall.

"You _do_?" Selina asked her. "Honey, how do you know?"

"Cause Gregory's been talking to Grandpa," Laura said, her voice quiet, her eyes averted. "He thought he would get in trouble for it, so he made me promise not to tell you."

"No, this is _good_!" Selina said, hugging her. "This is something we need to know."

"Why?" Laura asked.

Selina and Klaus looked at one another. "Do you think we should tell her?" Selina asked.

"Tell me _what_?" Laura asked.

Selina sighed. "You know how ever since your daddy's been gone, we've told you that he just went away?"

Laura nodded.

"Well, that's not necessarily true," Selina said. "The truth is that it's your grandfather who is responsible for making your father go away. He didn't like that your daddy liked me, so he punished him by putting a dagger in his heart and trapping him somewhere where I couldn't find him."

Laura's eyes got big. "That's not very nice!"

"No," Selina agreed. "It's not."

"I gotta tell Gregory about this!" Laura said.

"I'll come with you," Selina said. She looked at Klaus. "We'll be back in a bit," she said. They strode off to Gregory's room. The door was ajar and they heard him talking to somebody.

"...No, Mom doesn't know we're talking," Gregory said. "I don't think we'd be having any more conversations if she did. All right, Grandfather. Talk to you tomorrow. Bye."

Laura knocked. "Hey, Gregory! Can I come in?"

"Do you need help with your homework?" Gregory asked.

Laura looked at Selina, who nodded.

"Yes," Laura replied. "I do. So can I come in?"

"Yes, yes," Gregory said. "Come in!"

Laura got the door open and came into Gregory's room and Selina followed, quickly shutting the door behind her.

"Oh, hello, _Mother_," Gregory said, eying her with distaste. "What are _you_ doing here?"

"We came to tell you you have to stop talking to Grandpa because he's a very bad man!" Laura told him. "He's the reason Daddy is gone!"

Gregory shook his head. "No, it's not! He said Mom did it! And judging by what's going on between her and our uncle, I think I believe him." He frowned at Selina. "You got rid of Father just so you and Uncle Klaus could make kissy faces at each other."

"All right, Hamlet," Selina said. "I did _not_ have your father killed so I could be with your uncle, all right? And your uncle had nothing to do with it either. It was _all_ your grandfather's doing. I understand why you don't believe me, but that's the truth, all right?"

Gregory eyed her suspiciously for a moment.

"We're telling the truth!" Laura said, striding up to him and looking up at him with reproach. "If you don't believe us, you're stupid!"

"Laura, that's not very nice," Selina said. "Your brother isn't stupid. He's just dealing with two different versions of the same event and he has to decide who to believe."

Gregory looked down at his little sister with a smirk. He patted her on her head and said, "Do you really think insults are the best way to get someone to believe what you say?" He asked. "If you do, you're wrong. In order to get people to believe what you say, you must give them a good reason to. 'You're stupid' is not a compelling reason."

Laura stomped her foot. "But didn't you hear Mom say that Grandpa hurt Daddy? Why do you believe Grandpa more than her?"

"Because if she really loved Father, she wouldn't be with his brother now!" Gregory said. "She would be waiting patiently for Father to come back!"

"I _want_ your father to come back," Selina said. "Or at least to avenge him for what your grandfather did. Your uncle and I both do. But we can't do that unless we know where he is. He won't tell us because he hates us, but he'd tell you where he is, wouldn't he? Would you ask him?"

"Why?" Gregory asked. "So you can hurt _him_ too? Then who will I have left? You will have made _everyone_ go away!"

"Gregory, I understand why you're upset and reluctant to help us, but believe me, there are much better men that you can look up to," Selina said. "Like Alistair. You like Alistair, don't you?"

"Yes," Gregory nodded. "He's all right. But he's not related to me!"

"We're not gonna kill your grandfather," Selina said. "We're just gonna talk to him and tell him how upset what he did to your daddy made you. Or you can do it."

Gregory nodded. "All right," he said. "Am I in trouble for talking to Grandfather?"

"No," Selina sighed. "Just be careful with him. I don't think he'll have any reason to hurt you because you're the precious first grandson he's had in awhile, but he can be very sneaky when he wants to be, so be careful."

* * *

"Nicky, could you come zip me up?" Selina called. It was the night of the party Selina was catering. Klaus stepped out of the closet, dressed in a tux and holding onto his tie. "I'll zip you up if you tie my tie," he said.

Selina nodded. "That will not be a problem. She tied his tie and then he pulled up the zipper of her pastel purple dress.

"Now," she said, "it's my first big catering affair, so you have to behave yourself tonight, okay? No sticking your hand up my skirt and then leading me off to a closet so that we can have sex. Tonight is too important. You look really nice, by the way."

Klaus grinned. "Thank you," he said. "Forgive me if I don't compliment you back, but if I start thinking about everything I want to compliment you on, behaving myself will be very difficult, and I am sincerely trying to make an effort on your behalf."

"I know," Selina said, giving him a brief peck on the lips. "Thank you."

They said goodbye to Alistair and the kids and even though it took a little while to pry Lissy off Klaus, they were finally able to leave and go to the convention center where the party Selina was catering was being held. They went inside and were met by an older lady in a black cocktail dress, her brunette hair up in a bun.

"Selina!" She said. "I'm so excited for all my friends to try what you've prepared this evening."

"Hi, Margaret," Selina greeted her. "This is Klaus. He's my date. Did everything unload okay after we dropped it off? Do I need to check on anything?"

"No," Margaret said. "Everything seems all right."

Selina nodded. "Good. Excuse me, Nicky. I have some food to work with."

Things went smoothy until, as Selina was slicing up pies, she heard Margaret say, "Selina, I want you to meet our biggest benefactor. Mr. Mikael Erikson, this is Selina Warren, our caterer. She also takes part in many fine causes herself when she's not feeding the masses." Selina looked up from the pie and when she saw the man that Margaret had referred to as 'Mr. Mikael Erikson', she gasped, choked on her own spit and began coughing.

"Are you all right?" Margaret asked.

"Yes," Selina said when she got her breath. "I'm fine."

Mr. Erikson looked at Margaret. "I wonder, my dear Margaret, if you wouldn't mind leaving us alone?"

"Sure," Margaret nodded. "You two have a lovely talk and you know where I'll be if you need me."

"What are _you_ doing here?" Selina asked angrily. Mikael just grinned. "Now is that the proper way to greet your father in law?"

Selina's eyes narrowed. "How can you expect me to think of you that way when you deprived me of your son? What did you do after you stuck the dagger in him? Put him in a box somewhere?"

Mikael grinned wider. "It's very clever of you to ask, but I'm afraid that Elijah will be brought back only when I choose, so it's useless to ask questions."

"Including just when you plan on bringing him back?" Selina asked.

Mikael put a hand on her shoulder. "Oh, _especially_ that. Although it _does_ pain me not to tell Gregory the truth. He shouldn't be blamed for faults that are yours, but I can't risk him blabbing to you, can I?"

Just then, Selina felt another hand grip hers. "Is everything all right over here?" Klaus asked.

"Yeah," Selina nodded. "We're fine, Nicky."

"Yes," Mikael said dryly. "Don't worry, Niklaus. I was just leaving." But he stayed a little while longer, his eyes locked on Selina and Klaus' joined hands. Then, a man came and touched his shoulder, and they walked off, chatting as if they knew each other.

"Are you all right?" Klaus asked her. "Did he do anything to you?"

"No," Selina shook her head. "He was just being a jerk like usual and killing all our plans for revenge. And why do you think he was staring at us for so long?"

Klaus shrugged. "Why does it matter? This is your special night. Don't let him ruin it for you." Selina nodded and as she sliced the last piece of the final pie, a slow, romantic tune began. "So," Klaus said, "Are you allowed to dance, or do you have to stay behind the table and toil all night?"

"No," Selina shook her head. "Margaret said it was okay for me to dance every so often."

Klaus grinned. "Good. Selina, will you dance with me?"

Selina came around the table and put her arms around him. "Of course," she said as he led her onto the dance floor. "I would be honored, Mr. Mikaelson."


	9. Too Hot To Handle

"I can't believe you, Max!" James said. "Why do you insist on coddling that girl? It's her own fault she was injured in the first place. Let her suffer as she will!"

"I hate to contradict you," Max said, "but if we don't help her along, she'll never get well. And I assume you want her well so you can work her hard again?"

"I don't_ choose _to work her hard," James said. "It's something that has to be done in a house as big as this."

"I have to go check on Lenora's food," Max said. "You should probably go see if she needs anything."

Rolling his eyes, James went into his bedroom, where Max had insisted she be put.

"You're really enjoying yourself, aren't you, you little wench?" He asked Lenora.

"Oh, yes," Lenora nodded, wincing. "This is a highlight of my life."

"It was your own decisions that got you like this," James said. Suddenly a little bell rang. "You need to check the wrappings on my legs," Lenora said.

James reluctantly pulled the covers aside and, gently (for him), removed her bandages. "Those burns look angry," he said. But he couldn't help thinking that if there were no burns, she would have lovely set of legs.

"James?" Lenora asked. "Are you gonna get me new bandages or what?"

James blinked. "I might," he said. "Or I might not. It depends whether or not you keep being so pushy." He leaned forward. "You know," he said, "most people in your position know to be kinder than you're being to those who help them."

"I'm only being as kind to you as you've been to me," Lenora said sweetly. "If you want to see me be polite, take notice of how Max acts around me. He's nice to me, and I'm nice to him. Just a tip for you."

James narrowed his eyes. "Well, I apologize," he said through his teeth. "Now, you said you needed new bandages. Is there anything else I can get for you?"

"No," Lenora shook her head, grinning a grin that showed all her teeth. "Just the bandages will be fine."

Feeling incredibly resentful, James headed back to Max. "Where are the bandages?" He asked. "She says she needs new ones."

"Oh," Max turned after pulling Lenora's lunch out of the oven. "They're in a cabinet under the sink in the bathroom, along with some healing ointment."

James groaned. "This is ridiculous, Max! She's supposed to be serving _us_ and here we are waiting on _her_ hand and foot. She's a devious little wench isn't she?"

Max grinned. "I suppose. But you can't be surprised that she caught on fire what with her sleeping by the fireplace and all. Maybe we should insist that she sleep in a room."

"I _offered_ her a room!" James exploded. "_She_ was the one who turned it down and said that she'd rather sleep in front of the fire!"

"Well, if you ask me," Max said, "It's all in the way you phrase things. Let me show you. Be sure to grab the bandages and ointment!" James rolled his eyes but went to grab those items, and then they went back to Lenora's room.

"How are you feeling, dear?" Max asked. "Any better?"

Lenora nodded her head. "A little," she said. "Thank you for asking."

"Here's your lunch," Max said.

"What are you going to do next, Max?" James asked sarcastically. "Feed it to her since her legs and arms are burned?"

"I was actually thinking you might do that," Lenora said. "You know, since you're here anyway and all."

"If you're trying to irritate me on purpose," James said, leaning forward, "know that it would be very easy for me to pick you up, carry you out onto the grass and then put a healing spell on you."

"Then why haven't you done that?" Lenora asked. "It would be easy for you, like you say, and I wouldn't object to it." She reached out and gently stroked his arm. "Is it because you like the idea of having a girl captive in your bed, hmmm?"

James shut his eyes tight, willed his body to stay calm, and then pushed her hand off his arm. "Don't touch me!" He said sharply.

"Well, okay!" Lenora said. "Jeez, what's _your_ problem?"

"Nothing," James rubbed the spot on his arm where she'd touched him. "I just don't like being touched is all."

"Fine," Lenora said. "I'm sorry."

"I'm going to put the new bandages on you and then I'll tell Max to feed you if you need it. I don't feel inclined to do any more for you at the moment." James said. He put on Lenora's bandages and as he was leaving the room, Lenora said, "Hey, wait a minute."

"What?" James asked, turning.

"Thank you for helping me with my bandages," she said. "I appreciate it."

He nodded. "I'll go get Max," he said. "He'll feed you, not me. And don't you dare think of thanking me again, do you understand me?"

Lenora nodded and he left, slamming the door behind him.

* * *

When it took Lenora longer to heal than James wanted, he made a decision. "I think you're being lazy about this injury of yours on purpose," he said. "I demand you get well immediately."

Lenora raised an eyebrow. "Do you think I'm _choosing_ to be this lazy on purpose?" She asked. "Why would anyone choose to let pain linger on purpose?"

"Why would anyone choose to set themselves on fire on purpose?" James asked. "Don't make me apply logic to anything you do!" With that, he picked her up and, ignoring her protestations, carried her outside of the castle and set her on the ground, waving his hand so that her arms and legs were free of burns. "There you go!" he said. "You're not injured anymore. Now go inside and mop the floors. They're filthy!"

Lenora struggled to her feet, loping clumsily to the door of the castle because she hadn't walked in awhile. When she finally got to the kitchen, he filled a bucket with water and handed her a mop. "Here you go," he said. "I want this whole kitchen done by the time I come back."

"Where are you going?" Lenora asked.

"That's none of your business," he said.

"Is it to torture prisoners?" Lenora pressed. "If you're going to torture a woman named Esmeralda, give her my best, would you?"

James raised an eyebrow. "Okay," he said. "I guess I could do that. You have two hours."

"Okay!" Lenora said with sugary cheerfulness. "Goodbye, Jamesey!"

James' mouth twisted and he left the house.

"What's he got you doing?" Max asked once he was gone.

"Wants me to mop up the kitchen," Lenora said.

Max reached out for the mop. "Want to not and say you did?"

"No, no," Lenora shook her head. "I can do it. You're sweet, but I don't need your help."

"Are you sure?" Max asked. "You're not at your most sturdy now. I saw you as you came into the castle."

"I'm okay," Lenora assured him. "If I need help, I'll be sure to let you know. I promise, Max."

He nodded. "All right," he said. "I'll leave you to your work, then."

"All right," Lenora nodded. "Thank you, Max."

* * *

James returned from dealing with prisoners a couple hours later and his first thought was to check on Lenora and see if she'd had success cleaning up the kitchen.

"Lenora!" He called, as he opened the door. "How is the kitchen coming along? I hope it's clean!"

"Come inside and see!" Lenora called.

James stepped inside the house and walked through the dimly lit house to the kitchen. But when he got there, he felt himself slip. He struggled to keep his balance on the wet floor, but as he reached Lenora in the middle of the kitchen, he fell forward, grabbing onto Lenora. They both let out yells as they hit the floor. He landed on top of her.

There was just enough light for them to make out each other's faces.

"I bet you're happy right now," Lenora whispered.

He leaned closer to her mouth, thinking about how plump and luscious her lips were.

Lenora tensed as his lips came down on hers in a kiss that was more lingering than she would have liked.

Just then, more light blossomed in the kitchen. "Is everything okay in here?" Max asked. "I thought I heard yelling."

Lenora quickly shoved James off her. "He kissed me!" She said, her voice shrill, her tone defensive. "Get some hot water, Max! Get some disinfectant! Or at the very least, some mouth wash. _Please_ tell me you have mouth wash!"

James laughed. "Please," he said. "You've never had a better kiss in your life!"

Lenora slapped him. "You kiss me again and I'll hurt you worse!" She got to her feet and pointed out the kitchen doorway. "Now get out so I can dry this place!" She said. "You knew I was mopping in here. You should have been more careful!"

"Fine," he said. "I'll leave you alone!" He stalked out of the kitchen and since his back was to her, Lenora was very careful to take in how nicely his snug leather pants fit him. She sucked in her breath and whistled quietly.

"You know," Max remarked, poking his head into the kitchen, "listening to the two of you now, you seem married already."

"Oh, whatever," Lenora scoffed. "We do not!"

Max grinned. "Whatever you say."

* * *

At dinner that night, Lenora had a question for James. "Were you serious about inviting my mother here?" she asked. "If you were, you're gonna need a lot of time to prepare. She's even more unpredictable than I am."

James thought a moment. "I suppose I could," he said. "It _would_ be a good way for your family to know where you've gone. They don't know, do they?"

"I don't know," Lenora shrugged. "I don't think so, though."

"What do you mean her parents don't know where she went?" Max asked James incredulously. "You mean you just brought her here without telling anyone?"

"Of course," James nodded. "Max, her grandmother is Astrid Fale, one of the most important members of the Witches' Council. If I _had_ annouced to them that I was taking Lenora, Astrid would have found some way to make our deal null and void and there was no chance i was letting Lenora get away. So I took her and no one knows. At least no one that can actually _do_ anything about it, that is."

"So?" Lenora asked. "What about my mother?"

"I'll see what I can do," James said. "Every time I go to torture Esmeralda I hear her mumbling about your parents. It's aroused my curiosity. I'll see what I can do about getting your mother here."

* * *

"Well, well, well," James said when he opened the door a few days later and saw Helene on the other side. "Lenora's mother, I presume?"

"Yeah," Helene nodded. "What do you want with me? I've paid my dues for what I did to my husband and my family. My mother took my powers because of it. I don't know what you can do that would be considered worse."

James smirked. "I actually didn't ask you here to punish you," he said. "I brought you here for a guest of mine."

"What?" Helene asked. "Who could you possibly have here that would be interested in me?"

James looked at Max. "Go get Lenora, would you, Max?"

Helene's eyes widened. "Lenora? What have you done with Lenora?" She stood up, her body tensed.

"Don't you worry about your daughter," Max said with a grin. "She's more than capable of handling herself around here."

"Mom?" Lenora asked, coming hesitantly into the room. "What are you doing here?"

"We said that we'd let you see your mother and we're keeping our word," Max said.

Lenora raised an eyebrow and looked at James. "I don't know if that's necessarily a reward. Mom and I aren't necessarily on the best of terms."

"Oh, don't you talk to me like that!" Helene snapped. "I did you a favor by doing what I did to your father. I bet he doesn't give a shit about you anymore!"

"You don't know that!" Lenora shot back, looking hurt. "He might!"

James was smirking. "Is there something I'm missing here, ladies?" He asked.

"Mom hates Dad because he left us when she was pregnant with my sister Felicity," Lenora explained. "She's been pissed off at him ever since."

"Well, I can see why," James nodded. "It's reasonable to hate your father for doing something so callous as abandoning your mother when she's in a delicate condition. Why would he do that?" James asked Helene. "Was he normally so cavalier?"

"No," Helene shook her head. "I got pregnant after some crazy love potion shenanigans, he didn't want to have another kid, chaos ensued."

"Wait...love potion?" James grinned. "Esmeralda! You _were_ the person Esmeralda gave the love potion to, so you would fall in love with her son!"

Helene nodded. "Yep, at the last Council convention. That's where this whole mess started."

"Now, your husband is not a warlock, is he?" James asked.

"No," Helene shook her head. "He's part vampire, part werewolf and _all_ asshole."

James smirked. "I see there's no love lost between you and him."

"No," Helene shook her head. "He started this and now I get my powers taken away because he's a big crybaby."

"I thought you got your powers taken away because you used them to hurt Felicity," Lenora said.

"I _never_ hurt her," Helene protested. "I never even _touched _her. I don't see what my mother and father were fussing about in the first place!"

"Well, do you at least understand the part you had in why_ I _left?" Lenora asked. "Or are you blameless for that too?"

"I did nothing wrong with you, either!" Helene said. "I raised you properly. You didn't _need_ all that vampire crap interfering with your life!"

"Yeah, I needed it!" Lenora shot back. "Because newsflash: I. Am. A. Vampire! How the hell am I supposed to function as a vampire if I don't know how the hell to use my powers?"

"You should know how now since you abandoned me to go live with Damon and your Aunt Lucy!" Helene said testily. "Was it the life you always dreamed of?"

"Yes," Lenora nodded. "It was! And Aunt Lucy was a better mother to me than you ever were!" And with that, she strode off and slammed her bedroom door hard, wishing passionately that she could use her powers in the castle so that she could turn her mother into something disgusting that didn't say a word.

Back in the kitchen, James and Helene were staring at each other awkwardly. "Would you like to go now?" He asked.

"Yes," Helene nodded. "The torture I'm having courtesy of my parents is actually less painful than what I just went through." She got up from her chair and left the house without even telling Lenora goodbye. The only good thing that had come out of this visit was that she'd have something interesting to tell her parents the next time they came to check up on her.

* * *

"What do you mean Lenora's been carried off to some magical hellhole?" Lucy asked when Alistair came to give her the complete report of Lenora's whereabouts. "Are we gonna be able to get her back? She shouldn't be there!"

"Actually," Alistair said, "she _did_ break magical law, technically. Even though the man who took her used underhanded methods to get her to break the law, she still did it."

"So there's nothing you can do?" Lucy asked. "She's just gonna spend the rest of her life in servitude to some jerk and we can't do a thing about it?"

"Astrid and I are going to try and do the best we can to free her, of course," Alistair said. "But I'll tell you right now not to have high hopes."

"Damn it, Alistair!" Lucy said. "How could this have happened? How could we have just let her get kidnapped by some psycho? We should have taken better care of her!"

"Look at it this way," Damon said, putting his hand on her shoulder. "At least she's not on drugs or drinking or anything like that. That's what you always _thought _she was gonna get into."

Lucy pushed his hand off her. "Shut up!" She yelled, quickly getting to her feet. "You're not helping!" She strode off and then Alistair looked at Damon.

"Don't worry," he said. "This isn't your fault. Don't blame yourselves. Think of some way to distract her. Get her mind on other things. Can you think of anything that might do that?"

"I don't know," Damon said. "It will have to be something pretty big, won't it? She's taking this thing with Lenora pretty hard." Suddenly, he got an idea. "I know what I'll do," he said.

"Will it keep her busy?" Alistair asked. "Will it make her forget about Lenora, at least temporarily?"

"Yeah," Damon nodded. "It should."

* * *

The next day, the doorbell rang and Damon called to Lucy. "Would you get that?" He asked her.

"Sure," Lucy said. She opened the door and shrieked as she registered who was standing on the other side. "Sam?" She asked her twin brother. "What are you doing here?"

Sam shrugged. "The band's on a hiatus indefinitely," he said. "Maybe we started things too early, I don't know. Anyway, I'm here for good. Dad said I could come and stay. You don't mind, do you?"

"No," Lucy shook her head, still feeling bewildered. "No, I don't mind. Come right in."

Sam winked and chucked his sister under the chin. "Gee, thanks," he said. "You're a real sport."


	10. A Practical Girl

"Look who's back from dropping Felicity off at school in a timely manner!" Selina grinned as Klaus came through the door. "I'm proud of you, Nicky!"

Klaus gave her a small smile. "Well, it _has _been a month, hasn't it?" He asked. "Or more than a month? I should be adjusted by now, shouldn't I?"

"No," Selina shook her head. "Not entirely. It's okay for you to miss her, but I am so proud of you for finally understanding that allowing Felicity to have her own life will make her a more independent, capable individual."

"Yes, I suppose," Klaus sighed. "And I'll always have _you_, won't I?"

"Well, yes," Selina nodded, putting her arms around him. "Of course. And you'll see Felicity when she gets _done_ with school, no question. Like I always tell you, it's not like she's going away forever. Being among normal children is a good thing. It'll help her learn to be responsible with her powers. I'm not saying she has to abstain from using them cause my mom tried that and I always thought it was a sucky idea, but being out of control is bad too."

"Oh, not always," Klaus said. "We had fun the first time around, didn't we? Back in the twenties?"

"I might have thought it was fun back then, but that was just because I was angry and wanted to hurt people until I couldn't hurt them anymore. I wasn't loved and killing was how I made myself feel better," Selina said quietly. "But now I have you, and the kids, and everyone else to give me love and support, so I don't really see the attraction of killing for any other reason except to eat anymore, except maybe on special occasions. It's all about balance and I think that's the most important thing that Felicity will ever learn, even if she has to make a few mistakes first. Cause everyone makes mistakes. No one is perfect."

Klaus grinned. "Except for you."

Selina flushed and lay her head on his shoulder, grinning. "Well thank you," she said. "You're so sweet."

* * *

A few days later, Alistair got a call from Felicity's school. "Yes, this is Felicity's father," he said. "What can I do for you."

"We need you to come down to the school," said the voice on the phone. "There's been an incident with your daughter and she needs to be picked up."

Alistair hung up the phone, his forehead wrinkled in confusion. He drove to Felicity's school and found her sitting in the principal's office, her face red and wet.

"What happened here?" Alistair asked.

"We're not exactly sure," the principal replied. "According to Mr. Henson, one minute she and Billy Graber were making art projects for Halloween, the next thing you know, they're in an argument and Billy is clutching his face and there's blood all over him. He had to be taken away in an ambulance!"

"And you think Felicity was responsible?" Alistair asked.

"Yes, I do," The principal nodded. "I don't know who else could have hurt Billy. She'll be suspended from school for three days. Maybe during that time you can teach her better manners and the importance of keeping her hands to herself."

Alistair's cheek twitched. He turned to Felicity. "Get up," he said quietly. "Go and get in the car."

Felicity nodded, her eyes downcast. "Yes, Daddy Alistair," she said. They left the school in silence and after awhile, Alistair said, "Tell me what happened."

"We were doing a craft project for Halloween," Felicity said, doing her best not to cry. "I made a paper pumpkin and Billy made a witch. He made it really ugly looking and when I asked him why, he said it was because all witches were ugly. I said they weren't and he told me they were, and he wouldn't stop being mean about it, so I waved my hand and then he was bleeding. I didn't know that was gonna happen, Daddy Alistair. I promise!"

Alistair tensed and then pulled off to the side of the road. He shut his eyes, trying to remember that Felicity was still young and accidents like this happened with very young witches and it wasn't entirely her fault, but in spite of that, visions of Helene, and thoughts about how callously she'd handled her powers kept crowding his mind. He wouldn't let Felicity turn out the same way. He _wouldn't._ A few tears actually threatened to spill from his eyes as he thought about his daughter, her lost potential, and how because of her impetuousness, she wasn't even able to raise her own daughters, but he wiped them away and managed to sober up. He started the car again and drove her back to Selina and Klaus'.

* * *

"Oh, god," Selina moaned as she kissed Klaus again. "Nicky, how long has it been since we've done this?"

"Last night," Klaus replied as he kissed down her neck. "You cuffed me to the bed, remember?"

"Oh, yeah," Selina giggled. "That was fun."

He grinned and nibbled on her ear. "I guess one perk about the children being gone is that we can have fun wherever we want."

Selina grinned, "And for as long as we want. " They rolled around on the living room floor for a little while longer, then they heard a key turn in the lock of the front door.

"Damn!" Selina cried. "Who do you think that is?"

"There's only so many people it could be," Klaus replied. He and Selina reluctantly separated and made themselves decent just in time for Alistair come striding in with Felicity following at a much slower pace behind him.

"What happened?" Selina asked. "Something happened, right? Why is Felicity back from kindergarten so early?"

"I'll let her explain it to you," Alistair said. "She's been suspended from kindergarten for a few days, though."

Selina's eyes widened. "_Suspended from kindergarten_? You can't be serious, Alistair!"

"He is," Felicity said. "The principal said I was a bad girl."

"You're not a bad girl," Selina said, putting her arms around Felicity. "I'm sure we'll be able to work out whatever happened and make it all better, all right?"

Felicity nodded, burying her head in Selina's shoulder. Selina hustled her off to her room to talk and then Klaus looked at Alistair. "I think I'll be paying a visit to the school," he said. "I've been looking for an excuse to give that principal a talking to for ages."

"You're going to kill him, aren't you?" Alistair asked.

Klaus nodded. "Why shouldn't I? Did you see the look on Felicity's face?"

"If you're going to kill him, at least wait until _after_ Felicity's suspension is over," Alistair said. "Because I really think she has a lesson to learn."

"What do they claim she did?" Klaus asked.

Alistair sighed. "They say she injured a boy named Billy Graber. They were fighting about a drawing he did and the next thing they knew, he was bleeding so bad they had to take him to the hospital in an ambulance. The way Felicity tells it, Billy made her so mad that she waved her hand and there was just an explosion of magic put on Billy that she didn't intend, but we obviously couldn't use _that_ as an excuse to get her out of the suspension, so she'll be home for a couple of days, learn her lesson, and then go back. I'm _really_ going to stress the idea of controlling you emotions when you do magic," he said. "I don't want Felicity to turn into another Helene or Lenora. I don't think my heart could take it."

* * *

"Am I in trouble for hurting Billy?" Felicity asked Selina. "I only did it because of the bad picture Billy drew of the witch! He says all witches are ugly and I'm not ugly, right?"

"Right," Selina nodded. "You're very pretty. No one is ugly."

"Yeah, I _know_! Felicity said. "That's what I tried to say, but he wouldn't _listen_! And I was angry and I moved my hand and then Billy started crying and saying, 'My face! My face'! And then they took him away in the noisy car and I got taken to the principal and they said I was in trouble. And when Daddy Alistair came to get me, he had this sad look on his face. I think I made him cry."

"Well, you didn't know that you were gonna hurt Billy before you did it," Selina said. "And I understand why. I don't like seeing the stupid cartoon vampires in the store windows either."

Klaus poked his head in the room. "Everything all right in here?" He asked. He came to put his arms around Felicity. "How are you feeling, pet?"

"Mommy says I'm not in trouble," Felicity told him.

"You certainly aren't," Klaus said. "I'm going to go see your principal and he won't give you trouble any more."

"Why?" Felicity asked. "Are you gonna kill him?"

Selina and Klaus looked at each other in surprise.

"Am I going to _what_?" Klaus asked.

"Are you going to kill him?" Felicity repeated. "It's okay if you do. He's a mean man!"

"Wait," Klaus said to her. "The thought of me killing someone doesn't scare you?"

Felicity shrugged. "No. You're my daddy and I love you cause you're nice to me. Why should I be scared? You're not gonna kill _me_ are you?"

"Well, no," Klaus shook his head. "Of course not. Why would I do that?"

"That's why I'm not scared of you," Felicity finished. "You do what you gotta do. Like how when we drink blood, it's no different than when other kids in my class eat cheeseburgers. We're doing what we have to to be alive. And if you have to kill a meanie sometimes, that's okay as long as you don't do it a lot."

Klaus stared at her in awe for a long moment before Selina touched his shoulder and he turned to look at her. "Nicky?" She asked. "Are you okay?"

"Yes," Klaus nodded, still looking stunned. "I'm fine." He stood up, grabbed Selina's hand and brought her out into the hallway and they walked a distance from Lissy's bedroom.

"Did you hear that?" He asked eagerly. "She's not scared of me! She's the first one who hasn't been!"

"Well, that's because you never forced her into anything," Selina said. "You just took it slowly and let the chips fall where they may."

"So," Klaus asked. "You want to come with me to deal with her principal or not?"

"No," Selina shook her head. "I think I'll give you the pleasure of doing that on your own and then you can regale me with tales of your victory when you get back."

* * *

When Klaus returned, Felicity met him at the door with a wide grin on her face. "Is he gone?" She asked eagerly. "Did you kill him _dead_?"

"Yes, he's gone," he said, ruffling her hair. "But don't sound so happy about that. It'll make your mother worry."

"Has Mommy ever killed anyone?" Felicity asked, hopping up and down.

"Why are you so eager to talk about this all of a sudden?" Klaus asked, trying not to laugh.

Felicity shrugged. "I don't know. I just am."

"What do you say you come on a little errand with me?" Klaus suggested.

"Okay!" Felicity nodded. He picked her up and called to Selina that he and Felicity were going out.

"Where are we going, Daddy?" Felicity asked from the backseat.

"We're going to see Uncle Stefan," he said.

Felicity grinned. "I _like_ Uncle Stefan!"

Klaus grinned. "I know you do." They reached Stefan and Anna's house and knocked. Stefan opened the door and grinned at Klaus, but scowled at Felicity.

She just grinned back at him. "Guess what, Uncle Stefan?" She began.

"What?" Stefan answered flatly.

"Daddy killed my principal dead!" She said with a big grin on her face. "And it's good cause he was a bad man who said I couldn't go to school anymore because I yelled at Billy Graber for making a ugly picture of a witch and then made his face bleed."

Stefan looked at Klaus in confusion. "She seems _happy_ about this!" He said in surprise. "Why isn't she scared like all the others were?"

Felicity looked up at Klaus fondly. "I love him!" She said.

"Is that a good enough answer for you?" Klaus asked Stefan.

* * *

"So how'd you like my mom?" Lenora asked James. "Do you think she's as nice as me?"

James smirked. "Well, I saw where you get your charm from."

Lenora grinned. "Mom's a piece of work, let me tell you. She insisted I learn magic by practicing on my father. Maybe that's one of the reasons he's so bitter and messed up now."

James gave her a look. "Are you...sharing things with me? About yourself?"

"Yeah," Lenora nodded. "Do you not want me to? Does it bother you?"

"I would prefer to keep a more professional sort of relationship between us," James said.

"You mean like a master-slave relationship," Lenora corrected. "Until you want me to kiss you or something, that is."

James shook his head. "I don't plan on making kissing you a habit."

"Why not?" Lenora asked. "I mean, I'll be dating guys soon, right? And they'll want to kiss me, so I'll need to practice. Why don't I practice with you?"

"No," James shook his head. "That will _not_ happen."

Lenora frowned. "Oh, so it's okay for _you_ to kiss _me_, but not for _me_ to kiss_ you. _I get it. Just as long as you get what you want, my feelings don't matter."

"What has convinced you that I care about feelings?" James asked. "Yours or anyone else's don't matter to me. In case you've forgotten, I'm heartless."

"Oh, well you know what?" Lenora put her hands on her hips. "That is _not_ an excuse! The fact of the matter is, I'm going to start dating soon and I don't want to feel like an idiot when the guy wants to kiss me, so I have to practice whether you like it or not!"

"And just where are you planning on _finding_ these other boys to kiss?" James asked. "Please enlighten me. I'm very curious about where you plan on finding love in a place where love doesn't exist."

"I never said anything about love," Lenora said. "All I said was that soon I was gonna be looking for guys to go out with who will kiss me. No love there."

"Come on, sir!" Max said. "If all she wants is a kiss, why don't you give it to her?"

"Thank you, Max!" Lenora said triumphantly. "See, James? You're outvoted."

"No, I'm not," James replied. "This is _not_ a democracy and I will _not_ demean myself by doing something so ridiculous as kissing_ you_ just so you can say you're adept when it comes to kissing in general."

"You know what?" Lenora told him. "I think you really want to kiss me but you're scared to."

"Oh, please," James scoffed. "I'm not scared of _anything_!"

"Kiss me then," Lenora pressed. "You were bragging about what a good kisser you were last time. Why don't you show me again?"

James rolled his eyes. "You won't let this go, will you?" He asked.

"No," Lenora shook her head. "I won't."

James looked at Max. "Leave now, Max," he said.

Max nodded, trying not to smile. He left and Lenora and James were left staring at each other. "Well?" Lenora asked. "Are you gonna do something or what?"

James stood there a few seconds longer, not moving. Then Lenora rolled her eyes. "Fine," she said. "I have to do everything, don't I?" With strength that took James by surprise, Lenora pushed him to the floor and the got down on her knees beside him, her lips getting closer and closer to his face. "I thought it would help you along if we were like this," she said. "After all, it's how we were when you kissed me last time."

James sat up. "I'm aware," he said.

"Do you need to touch anything on me?" Lenora asked, beginning to unbutton the top part of her dress. "Would that help?"

James raised an eyebrow. "It might." He watched her intently as she released herself from the top part of her gown and let it hang down her back, revealing a pair of decently-sized breasts. He licked his lips, his face moving closer and closer to hers. Finally, his arms were around her and her fingers were in his hair. She moaned as he kissed her again and again. It was only the creak of the front door opening that pulled them apart.

"Oh, my god!" Said a voice.

Lenora worked to get her dress fastened up again, pink coloring her cheeks. She looked up to see who stood by the door. "Daniel?" She asked him in shock. "What are _you_ doing here?"


	11. How You Play The Game

"Well, if it isn't Tobias Potter's boy!" James said. "What brings you here? Not the reason I think, I hope."

"And what do you think that is?" Daniel asked.

James gave Lenora a look. "You love this lass, so you've decided to come here and rescue her, even though it's because of her own decisions that she's here, and if you don't mind me saying so, she's not that miserable."

"My being here wasn't strictly my idea," Daniel told him. "It was her aunt's idea. She had a talk with Lenora's grandmother and here I am."

"Well, isn't that charming?" James asked. "But I'm afraid you've come on a fool's errand, boy, because I'm not letting her go."

Daniel looked at Lenora. "Are you okay?" He asked. "Has he hurt you?"

"No," Lenora shook her head. "Why the hell did you come? You don't need to get into all this trouble just because of me!"

"I think you're worth the risk," Daniel said.

James rolled his eyes. "Enough!" He said. "Normally, it's not my style to torture people who have done nothing to me, but since you're here, I guess I can do what I want with you. Max!"

Max appeared. "Yes?"

"Take young Mr. Potter away," James said. "Put him somewhere safe. From now on, I'll be giving him my _special _attention."

"What do you have to go torture him for?" Lenora asked angrily as Max took a very resistent Daniel away. "He never did anything to you!"

"It's not what he'd do to me that makes me worry, dear," James said. "It's what he might do to _you_."

Lenora burst out laughing. "Me? Seriously? He's my friend. He wouldn't do _anything_ to me. You could have just let him go."

"Why would I do that?" James asked. "That would be an act of compassion. Of mercy. And I don't feel that way anymore. Toward anyone."

Lenora sighed. "I wasn't planning on going with him," she said. "I would have told him that I wanted to stay."

"No you wouldn't," James shook his head. "Why would you want to stay here with me?"

"Cause we made an agreement and I fucked it up, didn't I?" Lenora pointed out. James' eyebrow went up. "That's true," he said.

She nodded. "And I don't want you to think I'm the sort of person who backs out on a deal. Ending up here was my choice and I'm not gonna cheat you or anyone else just to save my own butt."

"You're honorable in spite of everything," James said. "You may set yourself on fire to get out of housework, but you won't leave here, even when given the chance. You are a very strange girl, Lenora. A_ very _strange girl."

"What's so strange about wanting to keep a promise?" Lenora asked.

"Well, it's just that not a lot of people do," James said. "Especially if the promise has bad consequences for them."

"I'm not a child," Lenora told him. "I can deal with bad consequences."

"Apparently someone can't," James asked. "Who do you think sent him?"

Lenora shrugged. "I don't know, and I don't care. Now, where were we before he interrupted?"

He pulled her to him. "We were right about..._here_." He kissed her again. They pulled apart and Lenora unbuttoned her dress again. "There," she said. "That's better."

"You're not shy, are you?" He asked.

"No," Lenora shook her head. "I don't think I have anything to be ashamed of. And since I'm stuck here, it's not like there'll be a lot of other people who will see."

He eased her down to the floor, kissing her stomach. "Do you know how long it's been since I've been with a woman?" He asked her.

"Oh, I don't really care," Lenora assured him, moaning as she ran her fingers through his hair. "This will be my first time. I've got nothing to judge it against, so I won't be able to say if you're horrible or not."

His lips paused on her stomach. "I most certainly am _not_ horrible," he said.

"If you're so sure about that, then why did your wife sleep around?" Lenora asked.

He paused, pulling his hands out from under the skirt of her dress. "That's none of your business!" He snapped, getting up quickly. He pulled her to her feet and locked eyes with her. "You're a girl with spirit and that I don't mind, but I will _not_ tolerate mention of my wife under my roof, do you understand me? Now, go to the kitchen and scrub the pots and pans and then see what you can do about lunch."

"Fine," Lenora said. "Whatever."

She went into the kitchen and groaned when she saw the mountain of dishes awaiting her. "Doesn't anybody _wash_ anything around here?" She muttered under her breath. She grudgingly turned on the sink and began washing the dishes the best she could.

"Are you okay?" Max asked her a few minutes later.

"No," Lenora said. "How's Daniel? He's not hurting too bad, is he? You didn't _actually _take him to be tortured, did you? Max, you're too good for that!"

Max sighed. "Sometimes, we have to do things we don't want to do," he said.

"How did _you _end up here, Max?" She asked. "Surely _you_ never killed anyone."

"You're not gonna believe this, but I was the man (or one of them anyway), who took James' wife from him. And I was married at the time myself."

"Why would you cheat on your wife, Max?" Lenora asked. "Tell me, please."

"My wife was ill," Max said. "Dying. I did the best I could to care for her without complaint, but eventually, as it would with any man, my physical needs overtook me. I began an affair with James' wife and she told me that if I killed _my_ wife, she'd be with me forever. So I did. I used magic to kill my ailing wife, and here I am."

"What did James' wife do after you killed yours?" Lenora asked.

"She just laughed," Max said, his voice breaking. "The two of them had been rivals at school and had done things that each hated the other for, so when she found out my wife was dead, she laughed and moved on to someone else. I was _so_ sorry. At her funeral, all I could think about was that I wanted to die myself."

"Oh, Max," Lenora said, hugging him. "I'm so_ sorry. _But at least they didn't take your heart out. At least you can still love."

Max nodded. "And that's my curse. James' is that he _can't_ love and mine is that I can."

* * *

"Hey," Selina said to Colin as he and Gregory threw a ball back and forth in the yard among the fallen leaves. "I have a surprise for you, Colin. Want to know what it is?"

"Sure!" The little boy said eagerly. "Where is it?"

"Well, it's not _here_, exactly," Selina said. "You'll have to get in the car with me to get it." She looked at Gregory. "But it can wait until you two finish playing catch."

"No," Gregory said angrily, lobbing the ball in Selina's direction. She caught it just as it was about to whiz past her head. "It's okay. You take him and go. And when you have any surprises for me that aren't here and need you to take me in a car to get to them, let me know."

He went inside and Colin looked at Selina. "What's the matter with him?" He asked.

Selina sighed. "Your brother just misses your daddy, that's all. Now, want to go see your surprise?"

Colin nodded. "Let's go!"

He and Selina got in the car and drove to Damon's house, where they found him and Lucy in the backyard, along with someone Selina was _not_ expecting to see.

"Sam?" Selina asked, running toward him and hugging him hard. "How long have _you_ been here and why didn't you tell me you were coming?"

"It was Dad's idea," Sam told her. "He thought I would be a good way to distract Lucy from the whole 'Lenora being gone' issue."

"Oh, yeah," Selina nodded. "I heard she's not taking it well at all." They looked at Lucy, who was absorbed in a book.

Sam nodded. "She even got this guy who was Lenora's boyfriend or something to go wherever she is and try to bring her back. I hope it works."

"Are you the surprise?" Colin asked Sam before Selina could reply. "If not, who are you?"

"Oh, sorry," Selina said. "Colin, this is Sam. Sam, this is Colin. He's my youngest with Elijah. And no, Colin. He's _a_ surprise, but not _the_ surprise."

"Well, then, what _is_ the surprise?" Colin asked. "I wanna see it!"

Selina gestured around the yard. "What do you see?" She asked. "Does it look familiar?"

"It looks like the field I play my games at!" Colin said excitedly.

"Yep," Selina nodded. "That's cause we're gonna play a practice game. I know there's not a lot of us, but it will still be fun."

"Okay," Damon said, standing up. "How are we gonna do teams? Two and two?"

Selina nodded. "Then one of us can sit out."

"It's okay, Mom," Lucy said. "I'll just keep reading my book. I don't need to play."

"Well, that makes it easy," Damon said. "How about you and Colin against me and Sam? We're pretty even that way."

Selina nodded, then as she saw Colin's mouth twist, she said, "What's the matter? Why don't you want to be on a team with me?"

"Because you can't _play_!" Colin told her. "You're a _girl!_"

Selina gave him a look. "I'll have you know that I was a star pitcher in the All-American Girls' Baseball League for eleven years, thank you very much. I can play quite well."

"When was that?" Sam asked.

"From '43-'54," Selina said. "I was a member of the South Bend Blue Sox. We were all but unbeatable thanks to me."

"You would be," Sam said. "Cause I mean, what chance would the other teams have being up against a vampire?"

Selina grinned. "Indeed."

Damon grinned. "Nice to see you were doing something wholesome and All-American during the war."

"Well, not everyone got to fight," Selina said. "But we did what we could to keep up morale. It was a lot more fun than working with rivets, although I wouldn't have minded being a Rosie. And it was helpful in the fifties too. If you were playing baseball, there was less of a chance they'd accuse you of being a Communist."

"Can we _play_?" Colin asked impatiently. "_Please_?"

They played for awhile, and Selina and Colin didn't do as well as he wanted. When they took a break at the halfway point in the game, Colin went up to Lucy and tapped on her book. "Hey," he said. "Will you be on my team?"

Lucy looked up at him. "Mom's on your team."

Colin's face crinkled. "Yeah, but she's making us _lose_!"

"Winning isn't everything," Lucy told him. But then she saw Sam and Damon laughing together and giving each other high fives and she said, eyes narrowed, "but in this case, I might be able to help you."

Colin grinned. "Okay! Thank you!" He ran over to Selina who was drinking from a water bottle and wiping sweat off her forehead. "You can take off the rest of the game, Mommy," he said. "I asked the other girl to help."

"What?" Selina asked. "No, it's okay. I can keep playing."

"No," Colin shook his head. "I want her to instead of you."

"Why?" Selina asked. "How come you don't want me to play with you anymore?"

"Cause we're losing!" Colin said. "I wanna _win_!"

"Well, winning isn't everything," Selina reminded him.

"That's what you tell us at practice," Colin said. "And we always lose cause you won't let us be mean to the other team!"

"It's called good sportsmanship," Selina told him. "And it's important. Your daddy would tell you the same thing."

"But Daddy's not here," Colin pointed out. "So let's play _dirty_!"

"Okay," Selina said. "If you want to play with Lucy instead of me, I understand."

Colin nodded and gave Selina a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you, Mommy."

Meanwhile, Lucy strode up to Damon and Sam. "Hi," she said. "You know _I'm_ gonna be playing with Colin this half, right?"

"How nice," Sam told her. "Now we get to kick _two_ pitchers' asses."

"Actually, I have very good aim," Lucy told him, and then kicked him in the crotch. He fell to the ground, moaning.

"See?" Lucy grinned at him. "Told you I had good aim."

Colin saw this exchange and when he came over to tell her that it was okay for her to play, he gazed at her as if he were looking at the most wonderful thing he'd ever seen. "You should be the coach of my little league team," he said to her. "You play dirty."

Lucy nodded. "It's not always the best policy, but sometimes you have to if you wanna win."

"So will you coach our team?" Colin asked her.

"Who does it now?" Lucy asked.

"Mom does," Colin said. "And we don't do good."

"I'll talk to Mom and see what she says," Lucy told him. "I don't want to upset her."

"Why would she be upset?" Colin asked. "She still gets to be the treat bringer."

* * *

"So how did the day go?" Klaus asked Selina that night. He looked at her as she lay on their bed miserable. "Judging from the state of you, I'd say it didn't go well. What happened? You can tell me."

Selina looked up at him. "You're gonna think I'm being stupid."

"You don't know that!" Klaus replied. "I could end up being sympathetic. You never know."

Selina scoffed. "Well, you won't be sympathetic to_ me_, that's for sure. You know how I got Colin signed up for that pee-wee baseball team and then agreed to be the coach? Well, we haven't been doing as well as the boys would like because, you know, I frown on unsportsmanlike behavior. Well, today, we went over to see Damon and Lucy and Sam was visiting so Damon, Lucy, Colin, Sam and I played ball, just so he could practice. It went okay until I took a time out so Lucy could have a turn and the teams would still be even. But then Sam started bad-mouthing Lucy and she kicked him in the crotch and he was down on the ground, groaning and making a fuss and then Colin says to Lucy, 'That was so cool! Will _you_ be the coach of our team?' Or some such nonsense. I've been unceremoniously demoted to treat manager just because I didn't have the foresight to be vicious and kick someone in the crotch and Lucy did. It's bad enough that I get underestimated by grown men. Now I'm getting underestimated by six-year-olds too!"

Klaus had been patting her back, but he stopped. "Lucy beat up her brother? That is so unexpected! I'm so proud!"

"No!" Selina shook her head. "I _knew_ you'd have no sympathy for me! That's_ not _something to be proud of!"

"Oh, come on love," Klaus said to her. "Buck up! Remember, there's no crying in baseball."

Selina scowled at him. "Oh, shut up!" She said.

"You need to get your mind off this," he said. "Let's think of things that will distract you."

"Oh, now you care about me?" Selina asked. "I thought you were gonna go and congratulate Lucy for utterly destroying me!"

Klaus sighed and sat down. "Don't be over-dramatic," he said. "She did _not_ 'destroy' you. She just replaced you. I'm sure that there was a good reason. In fact, when I call her, I think I'll ask."

He left Selina alone to go call Lucy and when he'd finished and returned to their room, Selina was asleep, a single tear lying motionless on her cheek. He brushed it off and she let out an involuntary gasp before relaxing again. Sighing, he took off his clothes, turned off the light, and then crawled into bed beside her, but instead of sleeping, he thought of ways to get her over this fit she was having. Then, around three in the morning, it hit him: She needed to go on a trip. They both did. He didn't care where as long as it got her away from the kids and thinking about other things. He packed suitcases for both of them, threw those in the car, and then left a message on the machine of the pilot who flew his private jet to meet them at the landing strip at the earliest possible time the next morning. Finally, he got back into bed and waited for the sun to come up.

* * *

As the sun peeked through the curtains, Klaus got out of bed, dressed quickly, and then picked up Selina, carrying her out to the car carefully because he didn't want to wake her yet. He put her in the front seat and buckled her in, thankful that she was such a sound sleeper. Then he went inside, woke Alistair (who was sleeping in his own room in the house) to tell _him_ where they were going so that he wouldn't think they had just disappeared. Afterward, he went back to the car and he drove off to the landing strip to meet the pilot and get on the jet.

When the pilot saw them, he grinned. "So this is supposed to be a surprise then, sir?" He asked as he loaded their bags. "I'm surprised she hasn't woken up yet."

Klaus looked at her fondly. "My Selina is a very sound sleeper." He got her in the jet and buckled her in again. She didn't wake up until the plane took off. The roar of the engines made her open her eyes at last. She looked around in a panic. "Oh, my god," she said. "Where am I?"

"The jet, darling," Klaus said, putting a hand on hers.

She gave him a look. "Why are we on the jet? We can't be on the jet! Who's watching the kids? Does anyone even know where we are? Do we even have _clothes_?"

"Calm down!" Klaus said, kissing her and trying not to laugh. "Alistair knows where we are. He's watching the kids. I packed our bags, not that we'll need what's in them for very long. Now stop ruining my attempt at a grand romantic gesture!"

"You're taking me on a trip?" Selina asked, finally able to grin. "Where are we going?"

He grinned. "That's just it," he said. "We'll know when we get there."


	12. The Extra Guest At The Wedding

"I'm sorry, Max," Lenora said. "I really am."

"Don't feel sorry for me," Max said. "I made my choices and now I have to live with them. I'm all right with it, really."

"Don't they have something like parole around here?" Lenora asked. "Will you ever get out?"

Max shook his head. "I'm afraid not."

Just then, James poked his head in. "I hear talking and talking is not conducive to working."

"Actually," Lenora said, "Lots of cultures have songs that people sing to aid in productivity. We're doing something similar. Now, what is it that you wanted for dinner? Is it in the ice box?"

"I want chicken," James told her. "There are some in a pen out back. I assume that, being a vampire, you're not squeamish around blood?"

"No," Lenora shook her head.

James grinned. "Good. Cause when you chop off a chicken's head, it bleeds profusely."

Lenora made a disgusted face and went back to the yard where the chickens were. She tried to catch one, but it wasn't as easy as she thought and by the time she returned with its limp body clutched in her fist, she was sweaty and dirty and her clothes were wrinkled.

"I got your damn chicken," she said to James. "Are you happy?"

"I see you decided to go with the less messy method of wringing it's neck to kill it," James told her. "Good choice."

"Killing it was easy," Lenora told him. "Cooking it will be a whole other issue."

Even with Max's help, Lenora struggled with preparing the bird and the meat ended up being tough and gamey.

"How is it?" Lenora asked, standing over James' shoulder as he tried to force down what she made. "Any good?"

"No," James shook his head. "Terrible. You really _are_ an awful cook, did you know that?"

Lenora grinned. "Yes, I did and as long as you keep asking me to do it, this is what your meals will be like."

James frowned. "Is this _another_ attempt to get out of a chore?" He asked incredulously. "Did you do this _on purpose?_"

"Not on purpose," Lenora shook her head. "Without magic, I really am as shitty a cook as this meal shows. I wasn't holding out on you at all."

James pushed his plate away and ran his fingers through his dark hair. "Fine," he said. "Because I have no wish for any of us to starve, you're off cooking duty until you learn how to do it properly. Max!" He hollered.

"What, sir?" Max asked.

"Teach her how to cook, will you?" James asked. "She's hopeless right now."

"You know," Lenora said, "You really shouldn't criticize people who do stuff for you if you can't do any better yourself."

"I'll have you know I'm a fairly decent cook myself," James said. "But it's not my job. It's yours."

"You just said I was terrible at it," Lenora told him. "So why would you want to subject yourself to eating more of my horrible cooking?"

"Nice try," James told her. "But I'm sure that after a period of time under Max's tutelage, you will stun us all with your hitherto unknown culinary talents."

"Max!" Lenora said, turning. "Do I have to?"

Max looked back and forth between them. "I don't think I want to get involved in this," he said. "Sir, you asked her to cook for you, I think you should be the one to make her aware of your standards."

James' jaw dropped. "You mean you actually think I should work _with _her?"

"Yes," Max nodded. "It would be a good project for you. Might help the two of you get along."

"She's my servant!" James raged. "Not my sibling or anyone else I should feel the need to get along with!"

"I better not be your sibling," Lenora told him. "Or the amount of times you've seen me nearly naked will be very unsettling."

"Are you saying that you _enjoy _it now?" He asked, his eyebrow going up.

"I don't mind it," Lenora clarified. "I'm proud of my body."

Sighing, she saw Max making 'come here' motions at her.

"Since he wants me to, I'll tell you my great culinary secret," Max said. "The truth is, I sort of cheat. I prepare the food outside where I can use magic and bring it in."

"You mean you've never actually cooked anything by hand in your life?" Lenora asked. "Damn, why didn't _I_ think of that? It seems like the obvious solution now."

"Well, I guess dinner will be better tonight, won't it?" Lenora asked.

"I guess it will be," Max nodded. "But don't beat yourself up about lunch. It was very good for a first try."

Lenora grinned. "Thanks. You got me through cooking. I wonder what other things you'll teach me."

Max put a hand on her arm. "I can teach you just about anything," he said. "But only as a last resort. Remember, you _are_ being punished."

Lenora scoffed. "Yeah, but isn't being stuck in a house with James and no powers punishment enough?"

* * *

The next day, without James knowing about it, Max sneaked Lenora out to see Daniel who was not in good condition.

"Oh, my god!" Lenora said as she looked at his injuries. "What the hell is James doing to you?"

Daniel gave her a weak smile. "It's best you not know," he said. "I don't want to burden you with that. You look well, though."

"Yeah," Lenora nodded. "That's cause he doesn't beat _me_ up every day! We have to get you out of here! This is no place for you!"

"How would you do that?" Daniel asked. "It's impossible! People don't get sent here knowing that they'll have a way out."

"I'll find one for you," Lenora told him. "And if I ever get out myself and see my family, I'm gonna give Aunt Lucy such a walloping for getting you sent here."

* * *

"A hot air balloon?" Selina asked, looking dubious. "I don't know, Nicky. You know I have a thing about heights."

Klaus nodded. "Yes, I know. But I'll be holding on to you the whole time. Does that make you feel any better?"

Selina nodded. "Sure," she said. "Why not?"

They went and got in the hot air balloon and as it rose up, Selina held Klaus tightly, her eyes closed tight.

"Sweetheart, you can't be like this the whole ride," Klaus told her. "Think about how much you're missing!" He pried Selina's fingers off his middle and then carefully pulled her up so that she was standing. He led her to the side of the balloon and put his arms around her, holding her firmly. "Open your eyes," he said. "You'll be really sorry if you don't."

"No," Selina shook her head. "I can't."

"Trust me," he whispered. "I won't let you die, I promise." He held her and she opened her eyes. "Oh, my god!" Selina gasped. "Nicky, it's so_ pretty_!" She stared out for a little bit, turned, and then kissed him deeply. He moved his hands up and down her body, unzipping her pants and then his own. As he pushed her against the side of the balloon, she broke the kiss a moment, wondering if Klaus had remembered to pack her birth control pills. Then she realized it didn't matter. She loved him and he loved her, and they could handle whatever happened next.

* * *

As the phone began to ring, Gregory put his book down and went to answer it. "Hello?" He said, picking it up.

"Can you talk?" Mikael asked. "Or will your mother get in your way?"

"No," Gregory shook his head. "Mom's not even here. She and Klaus left and went who knows where."

"Oh, good," Mikael replied. "Because I have a surprise for you, and I know it would be difficult to get you out of the house if your mother was around. I'll be at your house in a few minutes. Wait for me."

"Should I not tell anyone you're coming?" Gregory asked.

"Oh, I don't mind if you do," Mikael said. "Because as you've told me, your mother isn't home, and she's the only one who would have a truly negative reaction to the news and prevent you from going with me."

Gregory nodded. "All right," he said. "See you in a bit, Grandfather." He hung up the phone and put on his jacket just as Laura came into the living room. "Who were you talking to?" She asked.

"Grandfather," he replied. "He said he had a surprise for me and is going to come in a few minutes to take me to it."

"Did he tell you what the surprise was?" Laura asked. "I mean, I know that usually people don't tell you with surprises, but sometimes they do."

"No," Gregory shook his head. "I don't know a thing about it."

When Mikael arrived at the house a few minutes later, he looked back and forth between Gregory and Laura.

"What's Gregory's surprise, Grandpa?" Laura asked.

Mikael patted her on the head. "Oh, it's something I'm sure he needs much more than you," he said. "I'm going to take him to see it and if he wants to tell you what it was when he gets back, that's his choice."

Gregory nodded and turned to his sister. "We're gonna go now," he said. "If Alistair asks where I went, you'll tell him, right?"

Laura nodded, feeling bad about being left out of the surprise. "Okay," she said. "I'll let him know where you are."

Gregory smiled at her, then he and Mikael strode out of the house, slamming the door behind them.

* * *

"So where _are_ we going?" Gregory asked. "What's the surprise? Can you tell me now?"

"I'm taking you to see your father," Mikael told him.

"Mother said he was gone," Gregory told him.

Mikael nodded. "And as far as she knows, he is. But because, unlike your siblings and your mother, you are fully committed to your father, I will tell you where he is."

Gregory smiled. "Well, thank you," he said. "And if you're worried about me telling Mother, I won't. She doesn't deserve to know."

Mikael nodded. "She most certainly doesn't."

They drove to a warehouse on the edge of town, parked the car and went inside. It was bare except for a large black marble coffin in the center of the room.

"Is Father in there?" Gregory asked.

Mikael nodded. They both approached the coffin and Mikael lightly ran his fingers over it. "I didn't really want to do this, you know," he told Gregory. "Your father is my son and I suppose I love him as much as I can love anyone."

"Why did you do it, then?" Gregory asked.

"I don't like your mother," Mikael told him. "I never have and I never will. I was once the most skilled of vampire hunters. If I wanted to kill someone, they would die. Until 1929, I had a perfect record. My target at the time was a young, very violent and impetuous vampire that everyone called Lonely Heart. She'd spent nearly all of the twenties killing with enthusiasm and leaving an impressive body count in her wake. I thought she'd be easy to kill like the others, but apparently, it wasn't so. Because Lonely Heart had something that no other vampire I'd gone after did."

"And what was that?" Gregory asked.

Mikael sighed, the shame of what he was about to tell his grandson flooding his mind. "She had your father's affection," he said at last. "Lonely Heart claimed to love no one, but as time went by, she and your father got closer and closer until, by the time I'd finally caught up with her, she had your father completely under her powers. He knew I wanted to kill her, so he went behind my back, put your mother on a ship, and sent her back to America where, having learned her lesson, she lived a lonely life of chastity until they met again some years later. By then, she was no longer killing, but that didn't change what she'd done before. And when I heard that your father had decided to actually _marry_ her, that was when I made the decision: I decided that at some point, even though it meant hurting the only member of my family I had any amount of affection for, I had to teach your father that loving your mother meant he was shaming his family, the thing that should be the most important to him. And I can't allow that, Gregory. I just can't."

"But him being with Mother wasn't _entirely _ bad," Gregory pointed out. "If they hadn't fallen in love, then you wouldn't have me!"

Mikael eyed his grandson with as much fondness as he could muster. "I suppose," he said.

"Don't worry," Gregory assured him quickly. "I don't like Mother much any more particularly_ because_ she couldn't wait until Father came back. She betrayed him!"

Mikael put a hand on Gregory's shoulder. "That she did," he said. "And I think it's about time he knew about it, don't you think?"

Gregory nodded eagerly. Mikael opened the coffin and Gregory gasped when he saw Elijah's prone body with the dagger sticking out of it. "Would you like to do the honors and bring your father back, Gregory?" He asked.

Gregory nodded. "What do I have to do?"

"Just pull the dagger out," Mikael said simply.

Gregory took a deep breath, reached out for the dagger, and eased it out of his father's body. Then he and Mikael stood back and waited. When Elijah sat up a few minutes later, he looked around in confusion. "Selina!" he said. "Where is Selina, Father? What have you done with her?"

"I haven't done anything to her," Mikael said. "She's safe."

"Yes," Gregory nodded. "She and Uncle Klaus went on vacation!"

Elijah's eyes widened. "She _what?"_ He asked. Then, he narrowed his eyes at the boy standing next to his father. "Who are you?" He asked. "Father, who is that standing beside you?"

"It's me, Gregory!" Gregory told him. "I don't blame you for not recognizing me. You've been gone for awhile."

"How long?" Elijah asked.

Gregory thought. "Six and a half years," he said.

Elijah's eyes widened. "You're joking!" He said.

"No," Gregory shook his head. "Come and see."

They got Elijah out of the coffin and the three of them went back to their house.

"Laura!" Gregory called. "Colin! Come here! I brought the surprise with me!"

"I wanna see it!" Laura yelled, running into the living room. "I wanna see it!" However, when she saw Elijah, the eager look she wore was slowly replaced by one of confusion. "Is that Daddy?" She asked Gregory.

"Laura?" Elijah asked quietly. "Yes, dear. It's me."

"Oh, my gosh!" Laura said and ran into his arms, trying her best not to cry. "I missed you a lot," she said when she finally pulled away from him. "Sometimes, I pretended that Uncle Klaus was my daddy, but that was just pretend. I know _you_ are."

Elijah smiled and hugged her again. "Thank you, darling," he said. "That means so much."

"Who are you?" Colin asked when he saw Elijah.

"Colin, this is our daddy," Laura told him. "Daddy, this is Colin." Colin eyed his father nervously and then slowly edged toward him. "Are you _really_ my daddy?" He asked.

Elijah looked at the black-haired, dark-eyed boy and nodded. "Yes," he said. "I am," he said. "How are you, Colin?"

"Good," Colin said quietly. "How are you?"

Elijah sighed. "I've been worse. I've been better."

"I play baseball," Colin told him. "Little league. Mommy coached us first and now Lucy is doing it."

"Is that so?" Elijah asked.

Colin nodded. "Uh-huh."

Elijah patted him on the shoulder and looked at Laura. "Where did your mother go?"

"She and Uncle Klaus went on vacation 'cause she was upset that she wasn't Colin's little league coach anymore," Laura told him. "I don't know when they're coming back."

Elijah looked at his father. "Should I call her and let her know that I've returned?"

"No," Mikael shook his head. "Not yet, anyway." He left, saying he'd see Elijah later.

Elijah nodded, looking around at his three children who had aged seemingly before his eyes. "Anything else I should know?" He asked. Just then, a little blonde girl came in and eyed him curiously. "Hi," she said, sticking out her hand. "Who are you?"

Elijah looked the girl over. She looked familiar. He couldn't think why for a moment, then it occurred to him.

"Oh, my god," he whispered. "Oh, my _god_!"

He tried to stand up, but his whole body was shaking.

"What's wrong, Mister?" Felicity asked. "Are you okay?"

Gregory helped him over to a sofa and once he was sitting down, he found the strength to look at Felicity again. "Children," he said, gesturing at the strange girl who reminded him so much of his brother. "Who is that?"

They all looked at each other. "Felicity," Laura said finally.

"Who is that?" Elijah asked, feeling panic rise up in him. "Don't tell me your mother and uncle had another child _already_!"

"No," Laura shook her head. "Felicity is cousin Adrian's daughter. Mom and Uncle Klaus are just taking care of her cause Cousin Adrian and Cousin Helene are nuts in the head."

"Well, what a shame," Elijah said, thinking of his favorite nephew.

"Who are _those _people you're talking about?" Felicity asked Laura. "Mommy and Daddy are my mommy and daddy!"

Realizing that she made a mistake, Laura nodded. "Right," she said. "I just meant, um, uh.." Not being able to think of a better way to recover, she went over to Elijah and whispered, "Can you make her forget I said that?"

"What?" Elijah asked. "The things about Adrian and Helene? Why?"

Laura sighed. "Come in the kitchen."

Elijah got up and followed his daughter into the kitchen. "So," he said. "What's going on?"

"Cousin Adrian asked Uncle Klaus to watch Felicity because he and Cousin Helene are fighting," she explained. "She's been here since she was really little and so she thinks Mom and Uncle Klaus are her parents. They haven't told her the truth yet and we're not supposed to say anything."

"Oh," Elijah nodded. "I understand."

"So that's why she needs to forget that I said anything about Cousin Adrian and Cousin Helene," Laura said. "Would you do that? _Can_ you do that?"

"I can," Elijah told her. "Usually, I don't like to, but given the circumstances, I suppose I can make an exception." He and Laura went back into the living room where Felicity was watching TV.

"Hello," Elijah said to her. "I apologize for ignoring you earlier. I'm Elijah."

"Hi," Felicity said, her eyes lighting up. "I'm Lissy."

Elijah smiled. "Can you do something for me?" He asked, locking eyes with her.

"Okay," Lissy nodded. "What?"

"Forget what Laura said about the people named Adrian and Helene, all right? Because you're correct. Your parents are your parents."

Felicity blinked and then nodded. "Of course they are! I miss them so much!" She looked at Laura. "When are Mommy and Daddy coming back?"

Laura shrugged. "I don't know. But I bet they won't be gone for a real long time, Lissy. They'll be back soon."

* * *

"I hope this trip was restful for you," Klaus said to Selina a few days later. "Did it make you feel any better?"

"Yeah," Selina nodded. "It did. Thanks for bringing me, Nicky."

"You're welcome," Klaus told her as she lay her head on his shoulder. He ran his fingers through her hair and then looked out the window of the jet. "You think the children will be happy to see us?" He asked.

"Well, yeah," Selina nodded, sitting up. "Why wouldn't they be? Well, with Gregory I can understand why, but I don't think the other three have any qualms." She paused. "You think anything exciting happened while we were gone?"

Klaus shrugged. "I would hope not," he said. "But if something did, I'm sure they would tell us."

When they got home, they found something surprising. Not only were Felicity, Laura and Colin there to meet them with open arms, but Gregory was too.

"This is a surprise," Selina said as Gregory let her go. "What's going on? Why are you so happy?"

Gregory shrugged. "No reason. Can't I just feel good?"

"Well, sure," Selina nodded. "Why not?"

But in bed that night, she was more doubtful. "Do you think something's wrong with Gregory?" She asked Klaus. "I mean, he literally has not come near me for _years_ and now he wants to hug me."

"I think you should just take it for what it is," Klaus told her. "His attitude has improved and who really cares about why? The fact in itself should be enough."

Selina nodded. "I guess you're right."

She leaned against him. "Nicky," she asked suddenly, "will you marry me?"

"What?" Klaus asked. "Really?"

"Yes," Selina nodded. "What do you say?"

Klaus grinned. "I'll marry you if you'll marry me."

Selina nodded. "Of course I will!"

Klaus hugged her. Then, he put on his bathrobe and threw her hers, and they woke up the kids to make their announcement.

"What's going on?" Felicity asked, rubbing her eyes. "I was sleeping!"

"I know," Klaus said. "And we're sorry for waking you up, but we just wanted to tell all of you that we're gonna get married sometime soon."

"You are?" Felicity asked.

"Yeah," Selina nodded. "You'll get to wear a pretty dress and everything."

"I like that," She grinned.

"You can go back to bed now if you want," Klaus told her. "That's all we wanted to say."

Felicity stood up, grinned, said goodnight and ran back to her room. Meanwhile, the other three just stared.

"Aren't you all gonna say anything?" Selina asked. "Gregory? Nothing from the peanut gallery?"

"What does it matter what I say?" Gregory asked, standing up. "It won't change anything." He held out his hands to his sister and brother. "Come on, you two," he said. "Let's go back to sleep."

They left Klaus and Selina alone and silent in the living room. Then Selina got out, "Well, at least Felicity was happy for us."

The next day, Selina and Klaus went shopping for rings. What they didn't know was that they were being followed.

"I don't believe this," Elijah said as they headed into the ring store.

"It's difficult to take in, isn't it?" Mikael asked. "Are you going to kill her for it? It's something I would encourage."

"I don't think we need to go that far," Elijah shook his head. "But I definitely don't see why there's any reason I should pay her more than just the barest courtesy that she's due as a mother of my children."

Mikael frowned. "I don't understand!" He said. "She's making a fool of you! With your _brother_!"

Elijah shook his head. "No, she's not. Not anymore." When they were done spying, he went to the nearest courthouse and said to the first clerk he saw, "What papers would I need to initiate divorce proceedings?"

* * *

On the morning of the wedding, Selina was able get a hold of Astrid and she, along with Alistair, helped keep everything under control. To Selina's surprise, Gregory agreed to stand with her during the ceremony.

"I don't know what's going on with this change in behavior for you lately, but I appreciate it, Gregory," she told him. "Thank you." She put a hand on her head. "Of all days for me not to feel well, why did it have to be today? I hope I make it!"

"You're welcome," Gregory grinned. "I've just decided there's nothing left for me to be mad about anymore."

Selina sighed. "You had a reason to be angry before, and if I'm completely honest, you could still be angry today, if you wanted, but I'm glad you're in a good mood. It makes everything better."

Once she was gone, Laura looked at her brother suspiciously. "Why _are_ you in such a good mood? What's going on in your head?"

Gregory laughed. "Well, you know the part of the ceremony where the guy says 'If anyone thinks these two shouldn't be married, say something now'? Well, at this wedding, somebody will be objecting."

"It's not _you_, is it?" Laura asked.

"No!" Gregory shook his head. "That would be stupid. And I can't tell you because you're a blabbermouth and you'll ruin everything!"

Laura put her hands on her hips, doing a fair imitation of Selina when she was angry. "I am _not_ a blabbermouth!" She cried, stamping her foot, which couldn't be seen under her voluminous light blue skirts.

Gregory smirked. "Whatever you say, sister."

He felt a buzz in his pocket and went to the front door of the building where the ceremony was being held. He met his father at the back door. "So are you just gonna hide somewhere until it's time for you to make your big entrance?" Gregory asked, after they went somewhere where they wouldn't be seen. "Right when the guy asks for objections?"

"Not then," Elijah said. "Because I _have_ no objections. I can't say I'm not hurt by your mother's decision to live a life committed only to pleasure and not responsibility, but since we are no longer attached to one another, it's really not any of my business."

Just then, they heard Selina calling. "Gregory?" She yelled. "Where did you go? It's time to start!"

"I'll see you in a bit," Gregory said to Elijah, then left to get in line for the procession.

Everything went as planned until it was time for Selina to come down the aisle. The music started, the doors opened, and as Selina walked down the aisle in a royal blue dress that matched her eyes, she was overcome by a fit of dizziness and before anyone could catch her, she fainted dead away in a heap on the floor.

The music stopped and Klaus rushed over and got down on his knees beside her. "Are you all right, love?"

"Yeah, sorry about that," Selina replied. "I'm just a little dizzy today, that's all. Don't worry, I'm...I'm fine."

Klaus looked at her doubtfully, but once she was on her feet, ordered the music continued. She made it down the aisle, the vows were said, and nothing else happened until everyone in the wedding party was in the receving line. As Selina, Klaus and the others talked to everyone who'd come, Selina shut her eyes, praying it would all be over soon so she could just lie down and sleep. Finally, one last person took her hand. "Don't _I_ get to kiss the bride?" Asked a familiar voice. Selina opened her eyes. "Elijah?" Selina asked, feeling shocked. "How are you here?"

"My father was nice enough to let me know about your union with my brother and he set me free so I could attend," he said with a grin. "I assume you're shocked. You must be."

Selina managed to keep her composure. "Not as shocked as you're going to be when I tell you I'm pregnant again," she said. "With Nicky's child, of course. I've known for about a month and so has he." And with that, she ran off to the bathroom to throw up while Elijah stood stunned in the middle of the reception room.


	13. To The Dungeon

"So here we are," Selina said as Klaus dropped the suitcase on the hotel room bed. "Yay."

"What's the matter, love?" Klaus asked. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah," Selina nodded. "I guess I'm fine. But I realized something about our wedding. I don't think that a lot of people who were there were happy to be."

"What do you mean?" Klaus asked. "Of course they were!"

"No, they weren't!" Selina shook here head. "I honestly believe that only a handful of people support us, really. Everyone else secretly wishes I would have stayed with Elijah and were just paying us lip service."

"Do you wish you were still with Elijah?" Klaus asked.

"No," Selina shook her head, her voice firm as she put her arms around him. "I want to be with _you,_ Nicky. And if people don't like it, then fuck them!"

Klaus grinned. "Well, all right then," he said.

"But just to be sure," Selina told him, "would you do me a favor? Would you make me forget that I ever had any feelings for Elijah?"

Klaus shook his head. "No."

"Yes," Selina nodded. "Do it, Nicky, please."

Klaus paused. "No," he said. "I won't."

"Why not?" Selina asked. "I'm as good as dead to Elijah anyway. Please just make me forget him."

Klaus shook his head. "I can't," He said. "If I do, how will I know whether you love me for me or just because you don't know that you loved Elijah? You loved me once, in the twenties. Show me you still do."

Selina nodded. "Okay, Nicky." She stood up and kissed him. "So," she said, "what is it you want to do now, Handsome?"

"Are you feeling all right?" Klaus asked her. "Before we do what I want, do you need anything?"

Selina shook her head. "No, thank you," she said. "I'm good."

Klaus grinned. "Well, all right then," he said. He picked her up and lay her gently on the bed, removing her clothes, pulling off his shirt, uzipping his pants, and gently making love to her.

When they were done for the moment, he rolled over beside her. "Are you all right?" He asked her, rubbing her stomach gently. "Can I get you anything?"

Selina sat up. "Would you go see if you can find me some club soda?" She asked.

"Yes," Klaus nodded. "I'll get you your club soda and then I'll find a steward so you can have something to eat. Would you like that?"

She nodded. "Yeah, I think I would. Thanks, honey!"

He grinned and kissed her one last time, then they both put on bathrobes and he headed toward the door. As he left the hotel room, Klaus had to admit he felt happy. He was with the woman he loved and he knew that she loved him, even if she wasn't so verbal about it. That was no surprise. They'd always been that way.

He came back a bit later with her club soda and a steward, as he'd promised. She drank the club soda down and then sat still for a few minutes before pouncing on the poor man that Klaus had brought. When she came up for air, her mouth was covered with blood, and her tongue poked out of her mouth to lick it off.

"What are you waching me for?" Selina asked. "I should think that it would disgust you. I'm not a neat eater."

Klaus shrugged. "Who cares?" He said. "I really don't mind."

"And it gets you going, doesn't it?" She asked.

Klaus thought a moment. "Maybe a little," he admitted.

Selina sighed and and took a little more from the man before letting him go and cleaning him up before compelling him to forget what she'd done. Once he was gone, she turned back to Klaus. "So," she said, "You want to have a round two now? You might as well take all the opportunities you can before I_ really _start getting fat."

Klaus kissed her. "Oh, don't be silly," he said. "I don't think of you that way at all."

"Really?" Selina asked, hugging him. Then she looked up into his eyes.

"Well, yes!" He nodded. "Of course. Now, I say we go to the beach. What do you say?"

* * *

Roxie looked up in surprise as her uncle of all people strode through Enid's. "Uncle Elijah!" She exclaimed. "What are_ you _doing here?"

"I need some information," he told her. "About your brother Adrian."

"Oh," Roxie scoffed. "Trust me, you do_ not _want to know about Adrian. He's completely gone off the rails!"

"I heard that from Laura," Elijah said. "And I want to help him."

"Help him?" Roxie asked. "Are you sure? He might _beyond_ help."

Elijah sighed. "I could use the challenge, to keep my mind off of your mother and things."

Roxie winced. "Yeah, I saw you at their wedding," she said. "Wasn't such a good surprise for you, was it?"

Elijah shook his head. "No, but your mother will do what she will. I'm only sorry things had to end this way between us."

"I'm sure Mom feels bad in her own way," Roxie told him. "But you have to have realized that something like this would happen eventually."

"You only say that because you like your parents together so much," Elijah grumbled. "There was nothing wrong with your mother and me!"

Roxie sighed. "Uncle Elijah, you're a good man," she said. "Really! But you're not very flexible and Mom needs flexibility. She spent her whole life being crushed by other people's standards, and that includes yours."

Elijah's eyes narrowed. "Well, I'm sorry if I don't think it's all right for her to go traipsing about doing whatever she pleases, but there have to be boundaries _somewhere_!"

"Daddy doesn't think so," Roxie said. "And that's why he won and you're sitting here looking like you need a drink more than anything else in the world." She poured him something and pushed it in his direction. "So what happens now?" She asked. "I assume you've divorced Mom."

Elijah nodded. "Of course i have." He downed the shot and handed her the glass. "I would like another, please."

"You're not just gonna sit here and drink until you're hammered, are you?" Roxie asked. "That won't be much help to Adrian at all. That's how _he_ spends most of his time."

Before Elijah could say anything else, Vince approached Roxie with the phone. "It's the twins' school," he said. "Do you want to go down there and talk to them, or should I?"

Roxie groaned. "What is that, like the third time this month? I'll do it. You stay here and keep plying my uncle with alcohol."

* * *

When Roxie arrived at the school, she headed straight for Joey's classroom, slamming her hands down on his teacher's desk. "What terrible thing has Joey supposedly done wrong now?" She asked.

"You'll have to ask the principal," his teacher said. "That's where he is now."

Just for the heck of it, Roxie punched the woman in the face and then strode out of the room as the other kids looked at her nervously. When she reached the principal's office, she found Joey fidgeting nervously in a chair, his feet dangling above the floor.

"What's going on here?" Roxie asked.

"Mrs. Talbot," The principal began, "Are you aware of what a discipline problem your son is?"

Roxie sat. "He's had some moments, but I wouldn't say he's any more or less difficult than the other children." She looked at Joey. "What's happened now?"

"It hurts when I walk!" Joey complained, his busy brown hair coming down over his blue eyes.

"What is he talking about?" Roxie asked.

"Oh, it's nothing," the principal said. "Just one of his lies to get out of a test. He's been doing a fake hobble ever since he got back from recess and it's very distracting to the other children who are trying to take the math test in Ms. Henson's class. And tests, as you know, Mrs. Talbot, are very important because they measure a child's intelligence and tell whether or not they've attained the knowledge that they need to in order to function."

Roxie looked at her son. "Joey, honey, I know it hurts, but will you stand up and walk for Mommy?"

Joey nodded after a second or two and began hobbling around the room with a very pronounced limp.

"Oh, my god!" Roxie said in shock. She told Joey to sit back down and turned back to his principal. "You're telling me that he's been hobbling around like that since _recess_, which is like, before noon, and even though it's now just after three, you haven't done a damn thing about it?"

"Mrs. Talbot, be reasonable," the principal told her. "We can't allow him to leave class and see the nurse every time he wants to get out of a test. It's just not done. But-"

Roxie grabbed him by the collar. "But _what_?" She growled. "Joey is in need of medical assistance! And you sit here and lecture me on the importance of _tests_? Tests which exist to pigeon-hold children's potential, a thing which cannot _possibly_ be measured? Joey may be a problem, but he's _my_ problem, and I think he's bright and sensitive and I have no doubts whatsoever about his intelligence. I _do, _however, have serious doubts about yours!" She shook the principal a few more times, threw him and the chair backwards so they landed hard on the floor, stood up and picked up Joey so he wouldn't have to walk on his hurt foot anymore. "My regards to Ms. Henson and her test," she said, striding out of the room.

* * *

Roxie took Vince home and then called Enid. "Can you spare a few minutes?" She asked her boss. "I have a question about Joey that might require your particular magical expertise."

"Are you at your house?" Enid asked.

"Yeah," Roxie nodded.

"I'll be there in a few minutes," Enid replied and then hung up.

When she arrived, Roxie, still holding on to Joey, opened the door for her. "Thanks for coming," she said. "Something's wrong with Joey and I don't know who else to ask for help."

Enid looked at Joey. "What's the matter?" She asked.

"My foot hurts when I walk!" He said. "See?" With a pained look, he began hobbling around the living room. Enid looked at her. "What's the problem?" She asked. "Little kids get hurt all the time. He'll get better. He's part vampire, remember?"

"That's the thing," Roxie told her. "He got hurt _this morning_ and he's still not better. Why is that?"

Enid shrugged. "I don't think I have a definitive answer for you," she said, brushing her long dark brown hair out of her eyes. "It could be anything. Maybe the others have found out he's still alive and this is the beginning of the punishment for that. Or, and I would say this is the most likely scenario, it could be a side effect of being brought back from the dead that his powers aren't up to snuff like they should be. In any case, I wouldn't worry so much about it if I were you. He'll heal, but it will take time, so be careful with him."

"All right," Roxie nodded. "Thank you. And since he's hurt, would you mind if I took the rest of the day off to watch him?"

"Sure," Enid nodded. "You do whatever you need to."

"Thanks," Roxie said. "You'll tell Vince where I am?"

Enid nodded. "Sure. I'll let him know."

"Bye, Aunt Enid!" Joey called.

Enid paused and came back to give him a hug. "Goodbye, Joey. You take care of yourself and don't get into trouble if you don't have to."

Joey nodded and Enid went on her way. Then, he looked at his mother with a wide grin. "Why did Aunt Enid say I got brought back from the dead? Am I a zombie or something? Did Addie get brought back from the dead too?"

* * *

"Why don't you let Daniel go?" Lenora asked James.

"Because I don't want to," James told her. "He trespassed when he shouldn't and I have no obligation to let him go."

"You wouldn't even do it for_ me_?" She asked.

"What part of 'I don't have a heart' do you not understand?" He asked her impatiently. "Trying to appeal to my emotions won't work because I don't feel anything!"

"Well, I think you should let him go," Lenora said. "Technically, you have no legal reason to hold him."

"True," James admitted. "But I can also use my discretion when dealing with trespassers and _he_ is a trespasser!"

"The only reason why you're treating him this way is because he came to rescue me!" Lenora said. "If he had just been some guy who had accidentally stumbled onto this place, you'd let him go. But since he came to save me, you're being spiteful."

James locked eyes with her. "Every man has the right to protect his property," he said. "And that's what you are to me. My property. Don't get it into your pretty head that there's something more between us, or that I'll do you any favors, because I won't!"

"Fine," Lenora said. "I don't need you to do me any stupid favors! I can handle things all by myself!"

She strode out of the room and then Max poked his head in. "What did you do now?"

"I didn't do anything," James said. "She wants me to let the Potter boy go. And frankly, I don't think I should."

"Why not?" Max asked. "He really hasn't done anything wrong."

"That's what _she_ says," James said testily. "And I'll tell you what I told her. I simply don't care. Now, if you don't have anything to say that has nothing to do with the Potter boy, I want you out of my room."

"All right, sir," Max said. "I apologize. I'm leaving now." He shut James' door behind him and went to find Lenora.

"Are you planning on letting Mr. Potter out on your own?" He asked when he found her.

"Yeah," Lenora nodded. "He's my friend and he's being hurt because of me. I _have_ to rescue him!"

"Look," Max replied. "I know you care deeply for young Daniel, but I'm afraid trying to help him escape will lead to more problems than it would solve."

"So you're saying I should just let him be hurt?" Lenora asked. "I'm sorry, Max. I know you're trying to help, but I can't just let him languish here. I'm going to get him out."

"All right," Max sighed. "But don't say I didn't warn you about the consequences."

* * *

That night, James called Max to his room. "Look out there," he said as he gestured out his window, which looked out onto his prison yard. Several moaning, injured prisoners, some barely even able to move, were tied up there, awaiting the next day's punishments. Max and James watched as a much more agile dark figure crossed the yard and then was illuminated by the moon.

"Well, look who it is," James said with a grin. "it's my little mouse. Is she trying to get away?"

"No," Max said. "She's still just trying to free young Mr. Potter."

"Is she foolish," James asked. "Or does she honestly not realize that I can see everything she's doing from here?"

"She probably knows," Max said. "But she most likely figured it was worth the risk of you seeing her and trying to stop her to get him out."

"Why?" James asked. "Why would she risk it? Why would she do something so stupid?"

"Because, sir," Max said. "I think she loves him. Not romantically, mind you, but like a sister loves a brother."

James growled and broke the window, his hands gripping the bottom of the frame as the glass cut into them.

"Are you going to try and stop her?" Max asked tiredly.

"No," James said. "I think I'll let him go. He's nearly broken anyway. Torturing him isn't fun anymore." He took his hands off the window and Max winced when he saw the blood that trickled from the wounds. "Want me to bandage you up, sir?" He asked.

"Fine," James said. Max went and got the stuff to patch up James' wounds and as he did that, he said, "I'm proud of you for letting Lenora free Daniel without punishing her."

James admired one of his bleeding hands and grinned. "Oh, I'm going to punish her," he said. "Believe you me, I am going to punish her."

* * *

Lenora snick back in front of the fire and put a blanket over herself, shutting her eyes. She figured James had probably seen her, but she didn't care. Getting Daniel out was more important. She figured James would probably have some terrible punishment in store the next day, so when he shook her roughly awake in the morning, she asked, "What? No water? I thought you'd be eager for me to start with the chores."

"Actually," James told her, "You're taking a break from chores until further notice."

"Why?" Lenora asked suspiciously. "Why would you do that for me?"

"I want to show you something," he said. He led her down to the deepest part of the castle.

"This is the dungeon," he said. "Nice, isn't it?"

Lenora looked around. "Not really. But the fact that it's not much worse than any other part of this place does it credit, I suppose. Why are you showing me this?"

"I want you to see where you'll be staying for the next week," he said. "Tell me, is freeing Mr. Potter worth a week of solitary confinement?"

"You _did_ see!" Lenora said as she struggled in his grasp and he tried to get her into the cell. "Why didn't you come out and stop me?"

"Because Mr. Potter wasn't fun anymore," James said. "He could barely move!"

"If he was no use to you," Lenora said, managing to elbow hm in the gut. "Why are you punishing me for freeing him?"

"To show you that you shouldn't think you can do whatever you please and get away with it," he said. He shoved her roughly into the cell and shut the door. "Max will bring you porridge, bread and water three times a day, but outside of that, you will see no one."

"What about blood?" Lenora asked. "I'm a vampire. I _need_ blood!"

At this, James opened the door again. "Tell me something," he said, running his fingers through her hair. "Do you know what happens if you don't feed?"

Lenora nodded. "We start to desiccate, like corpses, but we're still alive. It's a horrible process."

"Is that so?" James asked. "Well, it will be interesting to see what you look like after a week down here with no nourishment, won't it? And don't think you'll be able to feed from Max," James finished as he pushed at a little hole in the door. "He'll push your food through this door. You won't see him at all."

* * *

Elijah parked his car in the street and walked up the long drive of the big house, knocking on the door. When a brunette in a pink bikini answered it, he frowned. "Who are you?" He asked.

"My name's Sheila," she said. "What can we do you for?"

"I need to see my nephew," Elijah replied. "Is he here?"

"Sure!" She grinned. "Come on in!" She led him through the house and to a room where Adrian and three other guys were playing poker. "Mind if I deal in?" Elijah asked.

Adrian looked at him and blinked three times. "Uncle Elijah?" He slurred. "What are _you_ doing here?"

"I came to help you," Elijah said, taking Adrian's beer away. "And from the looks of things, I'm not here a moment too soon."


	14. Three's Company

"Well," James said to Max, "it's been a week and I have a date in the dungeon."

"Was all of that really necessary?" Max asked. "You didn't really _have_ to lock her up."

"Is she suffering?" James asked. "You've been around her more than I have been."

"Yes, and she's not even eating anymore," Max replied. "I know you don't feel shame, but you really should be ashamed of yourself."

James rolled his eyes, and strode off to the dungeon.

"Lenora?" He called. He opened the door of the cell expecting her to jump him, but she didn't. He saw her crumpled up in a corner.

"I'm so hungry," she said, her voice weak. "Feed me."

"That's what I've come to do, my dear," he said.

He crawled over beside her and took her in his arms so that her head was resting on his shoulder. Then, he whipped out a blade and made a cut on his arm with it. Lenora's eyes flashed and she grabbed his arm, sucking greedily. Once she came up for air, her hair wild, her eyes flashing, she looked at him for a moment before kissing him deeply. He fell back onto the dungeon floor as she ripped apart his shirt, grabbed the knife and made another incision, lapping up the blood from his chest with tiny licks as he lay back, his fingers threading through her blonde hair.

"Am I supposed to *thank* you?" Lenora asked as she and James headed up from the dungeon.

"Well, I did save your life, love," he replied. "If I hadn't, you just would have been a desiccated *thing* rotting away in the basement, wouldn't you?"

"And I wouldn't have *been* in the basement dungeon if *you* hadn't put me down there, you jerk!" Lenora fumed. "Just what is your problem?"

"You let the Potter boy go!" James told her. "You shouldn't have done that!"

"Why not?" Lenora yelled. "He was close to dying anyway! Would it have made you happier to watch him drop dead in the yard? Would that have just made your day? You sicken me!"

"Sticks and stones, dear," James grinned. "Sticks and stones. Now what do you say to me?"

Lenora's eyes narrowed. "I'm not gonna say it! I shouldn't have to!"

"Yes, you will!" James said.

"What do you have to say?" Max asked.

Lenora turned. "He wants me to thank him for giving me his blood," she said. "But the only reason why I needed his blood in the first place was because he kept it away from me for a week. What he gave me was the least he owes me after that!"

"And you're welcome!" James called after her. Then, he looked at Max. "I'll pretend she said 'Thank you'."

Max gave a slight nod. "That's very big of you, sir." When James decided to go out and check on the prisoners, Max went to check on Lenora. "Are you all right?" He asked. "He shouldn't have done that to you."

Lenora shrugged. "Whatever. I don't care. The most important thing was getting Daniel out. He didn't deserve anything that happened to him."

"Did you warn him not to come back?" Max asked.

"Yeah," Lenora nodded. "And I hope he listens. I really do."

* * *

Daniel stumbled up to Lucy and Damon's front door, knocking a few times before he collapsed. Sam opened the door and then looked down at Daniel's prone body. "Wow," he whispered. Then he turned and yelled. "Lucy! Dad! There's a dead guy outside. What do you want to do with him?"

"A dead guy?" Lucy asked, appearing behind her brother. When she saw who he was talking about, she elbowed Sam aside and checked Daniel's heartbeat. "He's still alive," she said. "But barely. Help me get him in, would you?"

Sam took his legs and Lucy took his torso and together they lugged him into the house and put him on the living room floor.

"What's this?" Damon asked.

"It's Daniel," Lucy said. "I sent him to try and get Lenora back."

"Doesn't look like he was successful," Sam remarked wryly. "I didn't see anyone else with him."

Lucy bit down on her wrist and let the blood dribble into Daniel's mouth. After he ingested enough, he opened his eyes, emitted a weak groan, then struggled to sit up for a few seconds before Sam and Lucy helped him.

"What happened?" Lucy asked. "Where's Lenora?"

"She's still back with Mr. Black," He said apologetically. "I couldn't get her to come with me. He tortured me instead. If Lenora hadn't sneaked me out, I'd probably be dead now. And she told me not to come back."

"She won't make you go out again," Sam told him. "Don't worry."

"What?" Lucy asked, looking worried. "He _has_ to! Lenora can't stay in that place!"

"Lucy, he was practically dead when we found him on the doorstep," Sam told her. "I'd say that he's done his duty, tried his best, and that's that. I'm sure Lenora can handle herself." He looked at Damon for confirmation. "Isn't that right, Dad?"

Damon nodded. "I hate to say this, Lucy, but I think it's time we let it go. Do you _really_ want any more people coming back like this having failed in the end?"

"No," Lucy said. "I just wish I could know that Lenora was okay."

"Oh, I don't think you need to worry about her," Daniel replied sardonically. "When I arrived to rescue her, she was topless and letting Mr. Black feel her up. I think she'll be okay."

When he heard this, Sam started laughing. "I'm sorry," he said when he could get a breath. "But it's so funny!"

"What is funny about it, Sam?" Lucy asked.

"What's funny," Sam said, "is that you invested all this time into rescuing her when it seems like she might actually _not_ need to be rescued after all. Don't you think?"

"Of course she needs to be rescued!" Lucy said. "Where she is, Alistair says it's a bad place. _Nobody_ likes it there!"

Sam rolled his eyes. "Well think of it this way, then: As we've seen with Daniel here, getting a rescue in line is impossible Punishment is harsh. On the off chance that you _did_ get her out, what do you think the consequences would be? Clearly, Lenora has _some_ value to this Mr. Black, or he wouldn't have worked so hard and gone to such lengths to keep her where she is. I think we have a lesser of two evils game here, and that if you save Lenora, you'll just be condemning innocent people to death in her stead. Do you want that?"

"No," Lucy sighed. "I guess not."

"Well, now that that's settled," Sam said, standing up, "I have band practice to get to, so if you all will excuse me..."

He left and then Lucy sat next to Damon on the sofa, laying her head on his chest. "I don't care what Sam says," she told him. "Just keeping Lenora where she is doesn't sit well with me."

"I know it doesn't," Damon told her, threading his fingers in her hair. "But I don't know what else we can do."

Lucy sat up, a light in her eyes. "Maybe_ I _could go and rescue her! I mean, I know Daniel failed, but my results could be different!"

"No," Damon shook his head. "You are not going to risk your life to go to some magical dimension and rescue a girl who probably doesn't need rescuing. You're staying here. She'll be all right."

"What if she's not?" Lucy asked.

Damon sighed. "That's just a risk we'll have to take."

* * *

"I know we're supposed to be dealing with _my _problems," Adrian said cautiously as he watched his uncle fidget. "But Uncle Elijah, are you okay? How are things between you and Mom?"

"There is _nothing_ between me and your mother!" Elijah snapped. "She made her choice to go back to your father and that's that."

"Now why in hell would she do that?" Adrian asked. "Is she stupid?"

Elijah shook his head. "I don't know and I don't _want _ to know. Now, back to what we're _supposed _to be talking about: What's going on with you? Why are you acting in such a callous way? You have a family!"

Adrian nodded. "I know that. But they don't want me anymore. None of them do."

Elijah scowled. "Don't be foolish, Adrian. Of course they do! And even if they say they don't, you don't just accept it and lapse into a life of foolishness! You fight back! You prove them wrong!"

"I would if there was anyone left to prove myself to," Adrian said. "But Helene is gone, Felicity is with Dad, and Lenora...I've heard she's gotten herself into some trouble. So what's the point?"

"The point is that you are _better_ than this!" Elijah snapped, taking Adrian's drink away. "We're going to leave here and I'm going to put you up somewhere respectable while I sort out problems with your mother, all right? And you are not to leave where I take you. You're to just stay there and think about what you've done and how to make it better. You can't tell me you're happy living like this?"

"No," Adrian sighed. "But it helps me forget, so that's all right."

"Forget what?" Elijah asked. "The family you abandoned? Your responsibilities as a husband and a father? It's inexcusable for you to be thinking about this. Now come with me!" He impatiently pulled Adrian up by one lapel and dragged him out of Enid's to his waiting car.

They drove for a bit until they reached a hotel called Bay Towers and then after Elijah left his car with the valet, they strode inside. When they approached the concierge, he grinned at them. "Hello," he said. "What can I do for you gentlemen today?"

"I would like a room for my nephew," Elijah said. "Is there any way we can arrange that?"

The man nodded. "Of course. I'll go see to that now."

He returned several minutes later. "I apologize for the wait, gentlemen. The room is ready, if you will follow me."

The room he led them to was large and airy with a huge four poster bed, heavy wood furniture, white curtains and a large TV and sofa taking up the room that didn't have the bed in it.

"I hope you consider this adequate," he said.

Elijah looked around. "It's satisfactory," he said. The man left and Elijah looked at Adrian. "Now, stay here," he said. "I don't care if you sleep or watch television or whatever, but don't leave this room. I have to get some things done, but I will be back before tonight."

Adrian nodded. "All right, Uncle Elijah. Thank you."

"Elijah?" Selina asked in surprise when she opened the door. "What are you doing here?"

"I've decided to live here with my children," he replied curtly. "Are they in?"

"You mean you're gonna live here with us?" Selina asked. "Won't that be awkward?"

"It will not," Elijah said. "Now please, step aside, let me in, then go upstairs and get your things. I'm sure it won't be difficult for you and Niklaus to find other lodgings."

"Wait," Selina said. "You're coming in here and taking possession of our kids and the house without even talking to me about it first and you think I'm going to make it easy for you? We should at least talk about it first. Since I'm their mother, you owe me at least that much."

Elijah looked at her in surprise. "I owe you?" He asked, his voice shaking. "You strayed from me with my _brother_, and you think _I_ owe _you_ something? I can tell you right now that you are very wrong. I won't have our children subjected to living here with you and Niklaus in this den of iniquity. Children!" He called. "Come downstairs, please."

The three of them ran downstairs and looked expectantly at their father. "What are _you_ doing here, Daddy?" Laura finally asked.

"Well, I came to tell you that the three of you are going to live with me here and your mother and uncle will live elsewhere."

"Oh, thank you!" Gregory said and was out of the room like a shot. Laura looked confused. "Why is Mom going?" She asked. "Why isn't she living with us anymore?"

"Well," Elijah said, "She's not coming with us because she's going to live somewhere else with your uncle. It's what she wants because she likes him better than she likes me."

Selina listened to this with averted eyes and a flush creeping up her cheeks.

"If she goes, will we ever see Mom again?" Laura asked. "This same thing happened to a girl at my school and her mom doesn't let her see her dad at all."

"Of course you'll get to see me," Selina said, hugging her. "Your father wouldn't let any negative feelings he has toward me, however warranted they are, stop you from visiting." She turned to look at Elijah. "Right?"

"Of course," Elijah nodded. "You made a mistake and you _will _pay for it, but I won't make our children pay for it too."

"I would like to stay with Mom and Uncle Klaus, please," Laura told Elijah.

"Well, I would have liked to come home to a faithful wife and three lovely children, but we can't always have what we want, can we?" Elijah asked her, his voice tight. "Now, dear, please go get some of your things in a bag and get in my car."

Laura cast her eyes down. "Yes, Daddy," she said quietly, walking away. Colin silently followed after her.

"Can I get you anything?" Selina asked quietly. "Coffee? Tea? I made some cake that you might-"

"_Nothing_," Elijah said quietly, cutting her off. "I didn't come here to chat and I don't want to take anything from you."

"Except for my kids," Selina said. "You're perfectly happy to take_ them_."

"Oh, stop," Elijah told her. "Although you don't deserve it, you'll get to see them a couple of times a week. I'll be supervising of course, but you'll get to see them."

Selina nodded. "Thank you. Will I see them here?"

"No," Elijah replied. "You will not enter this house again unless I invite you to come, which will not happen very often, or even at all. Once you and my brother have found a house, let me know of your address so I can bring the children there for their visits with you."

"It doesn't have to be this way, you know," Selina said. "Things don't have to be harsh or angry between us. Why can't they be civil? Why are you making things so difficult?"

"Oh, I don't know," Elijah replied. "Why did you have to be a harlot and stray with my brother? Life is so full of questions."

Selina shut her eyes. "I know that what happened between me and your brother wasn't good, but in my defense, I didn't know if or when you were coming back. Did you expect me to just be celibate for the rest of my life? Let me tell you, if your father hadn't known about Klaus and me and wanted to out us, you'd still be daggered in the damn box he put you in, so in a way, you should be grateful to me for freeing you!"

"Oh, yes," Elijah said, feeling rage almost boil over in him. "I'm _damn_ grateful that I was released from the coffin so I could come home and find you married to my brother and pregnant with his child. Thank you so much! I _really_ needed that in my life!"

"Well, you obviously don't need me at all, do you?" Selina asked. "Fine! I'll just get my things and go and then you won't have to worry about me and you can live a happy life by yourself and find someone else to be with that you actually love!" She went and got a suitcase, then threw some stuff in it, driving off to her and Klaus' old house, which was where she met him that night.

"So," he said as Selina sat idly in front of the television. "Are you going to come to bed soon, love?"

Selina sighed. "I think I want to sleep by myself tonight, if you don't mind. I have some things to think about."

* * *

"Daddy," Laura asked as Elijah tucked her into bed, "how come you don't love Mommy anymore?"

Elijah sighed, looking into Laura's blue eyes that were so much like Selina's. "I guess I still love your mother," he said. "In a small way. But she hurt me very much when she decided to be with your uncle. Since she decided that, she has to live with him instead while you live with me."

"What made you love Mommy?" Laura asked.

"You're just full of questions tonight, aren't you?" Elijah noted. "I'll answer one more and then you'll go to sleep, all right?"

"Okay," Laura nodded. "What made you love Mommy?"

Elijah sighed. "Probably the very things she thought I didn't like," he said. "The way she'd come downstairs in her pajamas in the morning even though she knew I'd scold her for it. How she'd always look at my perfectly organized desk and then move something just a few inches and see how long it would take before I moved it back. The way she'd sneak into my office without knocking and wait for me to notice and send her back out again..." He had to pause at this point cause he felt himself getting choked up.

"Daddy, are you _crying_?" Laura asked, feeling shocked.

"No," Elijah shook his head. "I just got something in my eye. Now, enough dawdling. You have school tomorrow and you need to get your rest. Good night, princess."

"Good night, Daddy," Laura said and tucked herself in while he turned out the light. He left her room and went to see Gregory. "I noticed you didn't complain about this arrangement as much as the other two," he said.

"Why would I?" Gregory asked. "I _hated_ living with Uncle Klaus. It was just a reminder every day that you weren't here and Mom didn't seem to mind at all. But even if _she_ didn't care, I did, and I'm glad you're back."

"Well, thank you," Elijah said to him. "It's nice to know that _somebody_ feels that way."


	15. Loves and Losses

The next few days were much quieter for Lenora. To James' surprise, her cooking ability improved greatly.

"This is _wonderful_! James said after swallowing a mouthful of roast beef one night. "She cooks just like you do, Max! Have you been teaching her like I asked?"

"He's told me a few things," Lenora said, giving Max a wink. She sat down next to James. "So, how was torturing the prisoners today?"

"I thought you hated that I tortured the prisoners," James said. "I'm waiting for the day you free them all."

"I wouldn't do that," Lenora told him. "If they deserve to be there, they deserve to be there. I only freed Daniel because he was getting wrongly tortured on my account."

"And you fancy him," James said. "Don't forget about that."

"I don't!" Lenora shook her head rapidly. "He's my friend and I don't feel any more for him than that." A grin slowly curved her lips. "But if I _did_ feel something more for him, would it bother you?"

"No," James scoffed. "If you want to have feelings for that _boy_, what makes you think I would care?"

"I_ don't _think you would care," Lenora replied. "I was just asking." Then she lapsed into silence, poking her meat and potatoes with a fork.

Just then, the phone rang and Max went to answer it. He came back a few minutes later and sat down.

"Well?" James asked. "Who was it?"

"It was Lenora's grandmother," Max said.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Lenora asked. "I would have liked to talk to her!"

"It wasn't a call just to chat," Max told her. "Apparently, they have a young man who is reputed to be another you, sir, and they wish to send him here to be your assistant. He's coming tomorrow."

"Is that so?" James asked. "Well, that will be interesting, won't it? We'll be sure to give him as warm a welcome as would be appropriate down here when he arrives."

* * *

However, _despite_ James' resolution to be on hand to welcome the new boy, Lenora was the only one who was awake when he arrived. "Hi," She said. "You must be the guy who's supposed to come work with James."

The boy looked at her, confused. "Who is _that_?"

"Oh, sorry," Lenora gave a small smile. "Sometimes I forget that people outside speak of him in hushed, frightened tones."

"Is it any different when you live with him?" The guy asked. He wore head to toe dark clothes, had a face smudged black with dirt, and spiky blond hair.

"Unless you're a prisoner, he's not as bad as he's made out to be," Lenora said. "You just have to be willing to stand your ground against him and you'll be okay." She led him inside and sat him down at the kitchen table. "I know it's early," she said. "But are you hungry? Can I get you anything?"

The boy looked over and saw a loaf of bread. "Can I have that?" He asked. "The whole thing, not just a slice."

"All right," Lenora nodded. She poured him a mug of cider along with it, then watched in amusement as he scarfed the bread down like an animal."

"How long has it been since you've eaten?" She asked.

"I don't remember," he said. "Too long." When the bread was finally gone, the boy looked at her. "You're a girl," he said. "What are _you_ doing here?"

"I broke the rules just like everyone else," Lenora told him. "But I guess I'm luckier than most because my grandmother is with the council and that's why I'm not in the field with the other prisoners."

"Hey!" The boy said, his eyes lighting up finally. "_My_ father is on the council too! Not that he was over the moon when this happened, but he _did_ negotiate a plea on my behalf. I'm Luke," he said, sticking out his hand.

"I'm Lenora," she said as she shook it. "Welcome home, I guess."

"Thanks," Luke said. "So, um, where's my boss?"

"He's lazy," Lenora said. "You probably won't see him for another three or four hours. You'll be a nice surprise for him."

A few hours later, James came striding into the kitchen. "What's for breakfast?" He said, looking at Luke. "Damn, _you_ changed overnight."

"I'm over here, James," Lenora said, whistling. He turned. "Oh, there you are," he said. Then he turned back to Luke. "So who are _you_ then?"

"I'm Luke," he said. "I'm the new guy."

"Oh, right," James nodded. "Max told me about you. Welcome to hell."

"Here's your breakfast," Lenora said, plunking some French toast down in front of him.

"What's this?" He asked. "Are you making me girly food now?"

"You'll eat it and like it," Lenora told him. "I'm not making anything else. Meanwhile, I'll show Luke to his room. You don't mind, do you? Of course you don't." She turned to Luke. "You better take my hand," she told him, holding hers out. "It's easy to get lost around here." As their fingers interlocked, James, who had been watching them closely, suddenly began choking on his breakfast.

"Oh, for heaven's sake," Lenora said, letting go of Luke's hand and quickly giving James the Heimlich maneuver. "Don't eat too much too fast! I've told you that!" She scolded him. Then she went back over to Luke. "Sorry about that," she said, taking his hand again. "Now, let's go have a look at your bedroom."

They walked off just as Max came into the kitchen. "Has the new boy arrived? Have you met him?"

"Yes," James nodded, picking up his knife and holding it aloft. "And I hate him."

* * *

"Oh, come on!" Sam groaned as he watched Lucy feverishly penning notes to everyone she knew to try and get Lenora out of her present predicament. "Give it up already! Nothing you do will do any good. Relax and move on!"

Lucy raised her head and narrowed her eyes at her brother. "Don't you tell me to move on!" She said."I've cared for Lenora since forever and I feel I owe it to her to rescue her!"

"I don't see why," Sam said. "She was a holy terror when we were kids. If it weren't for her, we would have aged properly!"

"Yeah, well, you're the only one who actually thinks that's an issue," Lucy said. "No one else here does."

"Of course not!" Sam scoffed. "The sooner you got older, the sooner you and Dad were able to start screwing around, so why _would_ it be a problem for you?"

"And there is it," Lucy stood up. "I wondered when you were gonna start whining about that again. Why can't you get your own girlfriend and stay out of your father's and my lives, okay? Cause it's none of your business what we do or don't do!"

Just then, Lenora's cat came and climbed onto the table next to Lucy and watched her intently.

"Go away, cat," she said. "Shoo!"

"Don't mind if I do," Sam said as his phone beeped. "Dad just texted me to come to lunch with him anyway. Bye."

Sam left, but the cat still didn't move. "Why don't you try me?" It said quite suddenly. "Maybe I could help."

Lucy let out a shriek and threw paper everywhere. "You talked!" She said. "But cats don't talk! I'm hearing things!"

"Wow," Tobias continued, jumping off the table. "I would think that as a vampire, you'd be better at suspending disbelief than most people, but apparently not."

"Who are you?" Lucy asked. "What do you want?"

"I told you," he said. "You want to know about Lenora and I can help. If you're willing to listen, that is."

"No," Lucy shook her head. "Don't you dare come near me! You stay right where you are!" Then, she snatched up the phone and dialed Damon as fast as she could.

* * *

"Hang on a minute now," Damon said, rubbing his temple. "Tell me this again."

"I _told_ you," Lucy said. "_The cat talked to me_. Said he could help with the Lenora issue. Don't worry, though. I didn't believe him."

Damon gave her a tight smile. "You interrupted my lunch with Sam just because you think the cat talked to you?"

"I don't _think_ the cat talked to me," Lucy said, giving him a dirty look. "It _did_ talk to me. What do you think we should do? Should we take it up on its offer?"

Damon looked at the cat, who sat innocently on the table, and then turned back to Lucy. "You know," he said, "You've been under a lot of stress about this whole Lenora thing, so what I suggest is that you go get some rest and I will handle it."

"Don't patronize me, Damon!" Lucy said as he picked her up and carried her to their bedroom. "That's the same cat Lenora had, the one that she got from Adrian and Helene, the one that's actually a witch criminal! So him talking to me is _completely _plausible!"

Damon ignored her, laying her down on the bed. "Now, don't you go anywhere," he said. "Just rest and all the bad thoughts about cats talking to you will go out of your head and will be replaced by nice thoughts about sunny days and flowers and bunnies. I will go handle the business with the cat, all right?"

"Will you really?" Lucy asked.

"Of course I will," Damon assured her. "I wouldn't lie to you."

* * *

"It's Damon, right?" Alistair asked when he opened the door in response to his knock. "You used to be Lenora's babysitter."

"Yeah," Damon nodded. "I have a question for you. May I come in? That's not the question, I swear. I have another one. It's about witch stuff."

"Well, I _do_ know about 'witch stuff' Alistair replied. "Come in." Damon came into the house and started when pretty blonde came toward him and grinned. "Damon," she said. "I wondered when I'd be seeing you!"

"Why?" Damon asked.

"Oh, silly me," she said. "I haven't introduced myself yet, I apologize. I'm Astrid, Lenora's grandmother. Is Lucy still trying to get Lenora back?"

"Every day," Damon nodded. "It's kind of sad, really. Now she's even gotten to the point where she thinks the cat is talking to her and telling her that it can help save Lenora. I have her in bed right now and I told her to think happy thoughts."

"Actually," Astrid said, taking the cat, "He might have very well talked to her, although technically talking to non-witches is a big security risk." She looked at the cat. "Tobias," she said sternly, "what did you say to Lucy?"

"Just that I thought I might have a way to help her learn what she wants to know," the cat said. "And if I do help, will it get time knocked off my sentence?"

"It depends on how useful your idea is," Astrid said, ignoring Damon's stunned look as he watched the exchange. "Tell me, and I'll think about it."

"Well, I'm a cat, right?" Tobias began.

Astrid nodded. "Uh-huh, continue."

"What if we sent me to Mr. Black's place with some sort of listening device in me?" He suggested. "Lenora will recognize me, so she'll make sure I'm taken care of, but to everyone else, I'll be nothing but a loveable stray. And then you can have a receiver somewhere in Lucy's house so she can hear Lenora and know Lenora is all right, but since it's more subtle than having my son charge in without thinking, no one else will get hurt."

"You know," Astrid said, looking at Tobias in surprise, "that's not a bad idea. Let's do it!"

"And I'll go and tell Lucy that she won't have to worry about Lenora's safety anymore," Damon said, standing up. "I should probably apologize for making her think she was crazy, too. I know, I'll go pick up some flowers. They work every time."

"I think I'll follow you out the door," Astrid said. "I have to be getting back to work. Helene is finally done getting adjusted to not having powers and she gets to come home today."

* * *

"So remind me again why moving me back into my old house will help me," Adrian said a few days later as he followed Elijah toward the house where he and Helene had once lived with their daughters.

"Familiar surroundings will help get you back into a normal routine," Elijah said. "It will help you start over and let go of a past that is troubling you."

All of a sudden, Adrian's eyes widened as a couple suddenly appeared a bit ahead of them on the sidewalk. The woman turned, looked in their direction, whispered something to her companion, and then the two of them began to walk faster. Adrian began running to catch up.

"Adrian!" Elijah said sharply, "What in hell are you doing?"

"Don't you see?" Adrian asked. "That's Helene up there! And she's with another guy!"

Elijah grabbed Adrian's collar. "So?" He asked. "Why should that matter to you?"

Adrian smirked. "You might not remember this," he said. "But she's _my_ wife! She shouldn't be traipsing around town with some guy! She didn't even tell me she was back from wherever she went!"

"Well, I guess she figured that once you left her then she could stop being held accountable by you," Elijah reasoned. "It's a perfectly logical assumption. Now, remember what we said about forgetting the past and moving on?" He began trying to pull Adrian in the right direction to go back to his and Helene's old house, but Adrian didn't want to go. "Let's follow Helene instead," he said eagerly.

"No," Elijah shook his head. "It's too late for that. Now come on!" With much difficulty, he manged to get Adrian back to the house and sitting on a sofa.

"Why do you care about Helene now?" Elijah asked. "Because you certainly didn't seem to when you were wasting all your time with those scantily clad young women."

"Oh, that wasn't anything!" Adrian said. "Helene was gone and I needed attention. I had no idea when she was gonna come back."

Elijah rolled his eyes, groaned and ran his fingers through his hair. "My god," he said. "It's just like talking to your mother, and that is _not_ a compliment."

"Not with that tone of voice," Adrian said. "I know I've made some mistakes. I'm not stupid. I just...I'm just not sure what to do now."

"Well, you could start by getting yourself re-situated here," Elijah told him. "Unpack things, redecorate, make it your own. Think of this as a new beginning instead of just clinging to the old old ending, which was obviously unattractive to you. Do that, and I'll call you in a day or two to check on your progress."

"You leaving?" Adrian asked.

"Yes," Elijah nodded. "I found a new house in a city near here," he said. "I intend to move there with my children. The moving vans are all packed up, and now all I have to do is tell your mother."

* * *

"I'm surprised to see you back here," Selina said. "I thought you never wanted to see me again."

"Don't be melodramatic now," he said. "I just wanted to tell you that I'm moving with the kids today, and the visiting schedule will be a bit unsual until they get settled into the new house and their new school."

"All right," Selina told him. "Thank you for letting me know." She took a few steps forward and fell. He caught her and then looked down at her with disapproval. "Should you really be wearing heels that high when you're pregnant? Do you think it's wise?"

"I've never had trouble walking in heels before," Selina said. "Don't worry about me. So this is it then?" She asked. "You're gonna walk right through this door and I'm never gonna see you again?"

"Yes," Elijah nodded. "You'll have the life you always wanted and I won't be around to get in the way of it. Goodbye, Selina."

"I'm sorry our relationship had to end this way," Selina told him. "Really, _really_ sorry." She reached for his hand and he snatched it away. "Well," he replied, "maybe you are, and maybe you aren't. Goodbye."

He left and Selina stood in silence in the living room for a second or two before the full impact of what had just happened hit her. She was never going to see Elijah again. _Ever_. Not once more in her entire life. She couldn't let that happen. She just couldn't! She hobbled out the door, her steps uneven. She saw Elijah's car pulling out of the driveway and going into the street. She ran along it on the sidewalk trying to get his attention, pleading that she would be good from now on if he would just stay, but he either didn't hear her, or was unwilling to listen. When the car paused at a stoplight, Selina made a daring dash into the street, but just as she thought she'd caught up to it, the light turned green and the car drove off as another one charged forward. Both Selina's and the driver's eyes widened as he tried to apply the brake, but it was too late. He hit her head-on, leaving her in a crumpled heap in the street.

Eventually, paramedics and police were called. They were all amazed at how well Selina had come through the accident. However, there was still one thing that needed tending to. "Take me to the hospital," she said to one of the police officers. "We need to see if my baby is okay."

"How far along are you?" The officer asked her.

"Not very," Selina said. "Just a couple of months." She winced at the sudden pain in her stomach and one of the female officers held onto her. "I'm sorry, honey," she said. "But this early in your pregnancy, I doubt a baby would survive an accident like this. Even if you were further along, it would be unlikely. We'll get you to a hospital, but I'm sure they'll tell you you've miscarried. I'm sorry."

* * *

"Anna, what's the big emergency?" Elijah asked, meeting his sister down the hall from Selina's hospital room a couple of days later. "What's happened? I was telling the movers where to put things in the house when you called!"

"I think you should come back," Anna said. "If you have any love for Selina left in you, you should come back. She miscarried her baby and I think it was because the thought of you leaving her forever freaked her out."

Elijah looked at Anna for a long moment and then gestured down the hallway. "Lead the way," he said. "Is she all right?"

"Well, she's still alive, if that's what you're asking, but she really hasn't handled things well. She won't leave her bed since she got the news and she just cries. I know you're not happy with her, and she actually knows that and didn't want me to call you, but just seeing you might cheer her up."

They reached the room where Selina was staying and Anna opened the door. Elijah's face creased into a frown as he saw Selina sitting in bed in her hospital gown, mascara smudged around her eyes from crying, her hair in a sweaty, tangled mess.

"Selina?" Elijah asked, approaching her cautiously. "Why are you doing this to yourself? The only way you'll heal from this is to do what you'd normally do!"

"How cold_ are _you?" Selina asked, her eyes narrowed. "I just lost a _child_! I know it wasn't yours and this is probably some karmic thing for what I did to you, but can't you at least_ try _to be sympathetic?"

"You're right," Elijah nodded. "I apologize. How are you feeling?"

Selina sighed. "Really, really terrible," she said. "I mean, I admit I'm sort of relieved that this happened cause it's less baggage for when I finally do my penance and get to come back to you, but still...it was a kid I could have had, and it hurts."

"It probably does," Elijah said. "But you'll have other chances. So don't dwell on this."

"Thank you, I guess," she said. "But you didn't need to come. If you have somewhere else to be, you can go now."

Elijah nodded. "I should go see about re-loading the moving vans. I probably won't be leaving the city after all. You're not fit to watch the children, so that means I'll have to."

"Way to make it sound like you're being forced to do the most awful chore in the world," Selina replied.

"I don't hate the idea," Elijah told her. "It's just that I'm not used to doing it by myself. But I'm capable. I'll learn."

Selina nodded. "For the kids' sake, I hope so." She smirked. "Good luck."

* * *

Elijah found out all too quickly that raising children wasn't as easy as he thought. On the third night, he left them with Alistair and then went out to a bar to get a drink.

"You look like you've been through hell," the bartender commented. "What's happened?"

"It's my children," he said. "I recently got custody of them and I'm not quite used to raising them on my own yet."

"Well, here," the bartender replied. "Have another one. It might help."

Elijah took it and then the bartender turned his attention to someone standing behind Elijah. "What can I get you, pretty lady?" He asked her.

"I'll have what he's having," said a familiar voice as fingers walked across Elijah's shoulders. "He always did have good taste."

Elijah nearly spit out his drink, but managed to swallow and turn to face her. "Hello, Katerina," he said.

"Hello," she replied. "Haven't seen you in awhile. Have you missed me?"


	16. Rivals In Love

"I-I can't deny I'm_ surprised _to see you here," Elijah told her. "I thought you'd be on the run. I thought you were afraid of my brother."

"Well, since you know him better than anyone, do I have a reason to be afraid of your brother?" Katherine asked. "Does he have need of me anymore, or did my plan work?"

"What plan?" Elijah asked.

Katherine grinned. "The plan where I got a warlock to do a spell on another girl's family so that she would produce dopplegangers just as useful as me. I thought it would give me a fighting chance. And the one who would have taken my place at this point in time is a woman named Selina Warren. Do you know her? Is she dead? She has to be by now. No one's come after me for years."

Elijah shifted a bit in his seat. "Well, actually, Niklaus did know of her, and in a way, she was useful in the ritual, but not how you'd expect."

"Is she dead or not?" Katherine asked.

"No," Elijah said. "She isn't. But you don't have to worry for your safety. My brother is no longer interested in murdering you."

"But if he still was, I could count on you to save me, right, Elijah? Just like you did before?"

He nodded. "Apparently, that is a habit of mine. I saved Selina from my father's wrath during her Lonely Heart days, I saved you, I guess I'm just soft-hearted."

"So," Katherine said. "What is a soft-hearted guy like you doing in a place like this?"

Elijah gulped down some of one of his drinks as the bartender handed Katherine hers. "I'm here to take a break from my children," he said. "The ones I had with Selina when she was my wife. Before I went away and she slept with my brother behind my back."

"And she was Lonely Heart too?" Katherine asked in surprise. "I'm actually impressed. I always pegged her as someone who'd always be boring."

"Oh, she's more of a handful than anything," Elijah replied. "It's probably good we're having a break. But if you and I want to do anything, and I think we should, it would be best if I introduced you to my children first. When would you like to meet them?"

"Give me a couple of days," Katherine replied. "I'm not exactly the most kid-friendly person, so I need time to prepare."

"Well," Elijah pulled a small calendar out of his pocket. "Today is Wednesday. How about Saturday afternoon?"

"Works for me," Katherine replied.

* * *

"Here you are!" A voice said the next day. Selina looked up from the table outside the bakery and sighed. "Hello, _Katherine_," she got out. "Whatever you came to say, whatever you showed up to do, go ahead and do it. I'm not gonna fight you. I would risk losing too much if I do."

"Yes," Katherine nodded, sitting down. "Elijah told me about your falling out with him. I can't believe you slept with his brother!"

Selina looked up. "Hello, Mr. Pot. I'm Mr. Kettle. Are you calling me black?"

"That's beside the point," Katherine told her. "I didn't come here to hurt you or terrorize you. I came to ask for a truce."

"Why would you want that?" Selina asked. "If you're expecting me to become friends with you, I won't do it. You've cost me too much over the years."

"I don't even want to be friends," Katherine replied. "I just came to say that I have no intention of hurting you and hope that you'll be willing to return the favor. You leave me alone, I leave you alone."

Now Selina let a small grin cross her lips at Katherine's expense. "You know what I am, don't you?" She asked. "You know about my active werewolf side. Did Elijah tell you?"

"Yeah," Katherine nodded. "Just after he asked me to come to his house and meet your kids."

Selina narrowed her eyes. "You are _so_ lucky I'm on probation now, or otherwise, you'd really be hurting!" She sprung up and lashed out at Katherine, but she missed as the older vampire deftly moved out of the way.

"Yeah," Katherine nodded. "That and you just agreed to a truce. Life's tough, isn't it? I'll tell your kids you say 'Hi'. Should I do that?"

"You should go jump in a vervain-filled lake," Selina replied. "That's what you should do."

* * *

"What's the matter?" Anna asked as Selina stomped into the house and collapsed on the sofa. "Bad day?"

Selina growled. "Elijah is dating the person who is responsible for a large portion of the misery in my life and I can't do a damn thing about it!"

Anna looked at her for a moment, went into the kitchen, grabbed a carton of chocolate ice cream out of the freezer and handed it to her, along with a spoon. "Here," she offered. "It will make you feel better."

Selina sighed. "If this is your method of solving every problem, I'm probably gonna be fat by the time all this is over."

Anna nodded. "You'll be fat, but your conscience will be clear."

Selina opened the carton and ate a spoonful of ice cream. After she swallowed, she sat in silence for a second before saying, "Thank you to you and Stefan for agreeing to help me and Klaus out like this. I really want things to work with Elijah and I think it will be more easily accomplished if Klaus and I aren't in the same place. It only made sense that we would room with our two best friends."

"Oh, don't worry about it," Anna replied. "Stefan was probably glad to get away from me anyway."

"Why?" Selina asked.

"Cause I've been thinking about having a family for awhile now, probably talking about it more than I should, and the best Stefan can do is get me a puppy," Anna replied. stroking the honey-colored animal that sat next to her on the sofa. "Poor guy."

"Are you serious about this?" Selina asked. "That's so cool! It would be great if you could get that worked out."

"I think so too," Anna agreed. "But you know that means I'd have to end things with Stefan."

"Well, you have to think about which means more to you," Selina told her. "Being with him or having a family."

"That's just it!" Anna replied. "I don't _know_ at this point!"

"Don't get all worked up about it," Selina advised. "The right answer will come to you in the end, just like it did with me about Elijah. I mean, I was so sure about Nicky, then the second Elijah made it clear I'd never see him again once he left, I felt like I'd gotten all the breath sucked out of me. Like I was suffocating."

"So that's why you ran out into the street to try and catch his car and got into an accident," Anna replied. "That clears things up nicely."

"Where do you think Stefan is at this point?" Selina asked her. "Did he tell you?"

Anna shrugged. "He said he was gonna try and get Nik out of the house. I think he's starting to get worried about him."

"Don't tell me that!" Selina yelled, hitting Anna lightly on the shoulder. "Then I'm gonna start feeling guilty!"

"Why?" Anna asked. "You really shouldn't. And besides, Nik's not like Elijah. He'll still be your friend, even though you didn't choose him."

Selina nodded. "You're right. And since Elijah is with Katherine, that means that as long as Klaus and I don't go too far, we can still be friends too, right? It would be hypocritical for Elijah to not allow that. And even if he forbids it, does he really have the right to choose my friends?"

"No," Anna shook her head. "He doesn't have the right to choose your friends, but he has the right to be secure in the idea that you won't cheat on him."

"And I _won't_!" Selina replied. "I definitely won't again. I think I can only handle the consequences one time."

"And that's the point," Anna grinned. "You're supposed to learn from them so you don't repeat bad behavior."

"He's bringing her to meet the kids," Selina mumbled. "I don't want her anywhere _near _my kids!"

"Relax," Anna suggested. "Elijah won't let anything bad happen. And think about this: what if the kids end up hating her as much as you do and start plotting revenge? Bad things will happen to her and Elijah won't be able to pin any of it on you!"

"He could probably find some way to," Selina replied. "He would most likely storm over here and accuse me of telling the kids to badmouth any woman he's with to make myself look better."

"If he does that, I'll cover for you," Anna promised. "You're doing much better with this whole thing than I thought you would and you should get credit when it's due."

Selina grinned. "Well, thank you," she replied. "That's reassuring, at least."

Anna grinned. "Let's watch a movie," she said. "You want to make the popcorn, or shall I?"

* * *

"Where did that come from?" James asked as he saw Lenora carry in a cat.

"I found him outside," Lenora said. "You don't mind if we keep him, do you?"

As she brought the cat past him, James began to sneeze. "Send it away!" He said in between sneezes. "I can't be around animals! I'm horribly allergic."

"I'm not just gonna send it away!" Lenora said, cuddling the cat. "What kind of a person would I be if I just turned away a suffering animal? Unlike you, James, some of us actually _have_ hearts." She looked down at the cat. "Come with me and we'll see if we can't get you a saucer of cream, all right?"

"You see that, Max?" James asked.

"Yes," Max nodded. "She seems to have taken quite a shine to that animal, sir."

"Wonderful," James grumbled. "First the boy and now a cat? She's supposed to be serving _me _not just anyone who comes along."

"Well," Max said, with a twinkle in his eye. "I'm sure that if you brought it to her attention that you were feeling neglected, she'd do something about it post haste."

"Oh, don't be foolish, Max," James scoffed. "I'm not a cute animal, or a boy her own age. What would she want with me?"

"I don't know," Max said. "But there could be something. She cares about you, we know that much."

"Ah, that's probably just out of obligation," James said.

"You know that there's an easy way to solve this mystery, don't you?" Max pointed out. "Just to go her room and ask. As bold as she is herself, I'm sure she won't hate you for it."

"You might be right," James replied. "I think I'll go and claim what's mine!" He looked around for Lenora and found her in the bedroom he'd first offered her.

"What are you doing here?" Lenora asked. "I thought you couldn't be around cats because you're allergic."

James sneezed again. "Well, I am."

"Did you need anything?" Lenora asked.

"Not that I can think of. I just thought I'd come and say 'Hello'."

Lenora grinned. "James, are you all right? You're acting strange."

"No, I'm not," James replied quickly, pushing himself back against the wall of the small room. "Ah! I just realized what I wanted tell you. I need you to clean up the torture chamber this evening. It's getting _disgusting_ in there." He shuddered.

"Can that wait?" Lenora asked. "Luke and I were planning on spending the evening together. He wants me to take him on a tour of the castle."

"Do you..._like_ him?" James asked.

"He's nice," Lenora said. "Like you when you're having a good day. Sometimes I wonder how either of you had it in you to do the sort of things that get you sent down here."

She turned to face him. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course," he said. "Anything."

"If, say, my grandmother came and told you that you could be free from this place just by expressing genuine remorse for what you did, could you do it? Or if someone gave you the chance to go back in time and _not_ kill your wife, would you take it?"

He looked at her hopeful face long and hard. He knew the answer that she wanted to hear, but it wasn't one he could give her. "No," he said at last. "I will _always_ be glad I killed my wife. And I like it here. I think it's nice."

Lenora scowled as she saw a bug crawl up a wall. "You're the only one who thinks that," she said. "Why do you think like that? What could possibly be here that would make you prefer this place to anything else?" James opened his mouth to reply, but at that moment, Luke appeared. "Is it time for my tour?" He asked.

"Yeah," Lenora nodded. "Come on."

Once she had disappeared, James went to stand by the door of the room, watching the pair's retreating backs as they walked away from him.

"In answer to your question, Miss Lenora," he said, "_you_ are the one who's keeping me here! I don't regret a single bad thing I've done because if I hadn't wound up here, I never would have met you."

* * *

"Didn't expect to see you here," Damon said when he saw Stefan sitting alone on a bench in the park. "Why _are_ you here?"

"Why does it matter so much to you?" Stefan replied. "Can't a guy just come out and enjoy a nice day?"

"Well, yeah," Damon replied. "There's nothing wrong with that. Is that why you're here? To enjoy the nice day?"

"That and there are some people I want to avoid right now," Stefan replied. "I want to avoid Anna because if she says one more thing about wanting to have a kid, I am going to burn the house down with her inside it, and I want to avoid Klaus because ever since Selina told him that it would be best for her to move out, he's been moping all over the place. Are _you_ avoiding anyone, Damon?"

"Well, I wouldn't call it avoiding if the person you live with isn't paying attention to you in the first place," Damon replied.

"You and Lucy had a fight!" Stefan guessed, a twinkle in his eye. "I knew it! I _told_ you that things wouldn't work between you and her!"

"Thanks for your support, brother," Damon replied dryly. "No, Lucy and I have not been fighting. She's just been so freaked out about Lenora that she spends most of the time locked in her studio, listening to transmissions she gets from the cat."

"Do you realize how ridiculous you sound?" Stefan asked.

Damon nodded. "I know it sounds weird, but that's what she does. I'm gonna have to have a talk with her about it soon."

Stefan grinned widely. "Starting to feel a bit needy, Damon? You poor guy."

"You don't look like you're sorry for me at all," Damon replied. "I'd have thought you would be, since you're in the same boat with Anna."

"And I don't know why that is," Stefan replied angrily. "I bought her a _dog_ for fuck's sake! Shouldn't that be enough? It's not my fault I can't do more than that!"

Just then, Felicity appeared. "Uncle Stefan, we have to go home now," she said. "I'm hungry!"

"_Hungry_-hungry?" Stefan asked.

"Yeah," Felicity nodded. "I need a blood bag!"

Stefan scoffed and brought Felicity close to him. "You don't need a blood bag if you're hungry," he said. "Look around you. There's blood everywhere. You just have to go and get it."

"I don't know," Felicity said, looking doubtful. "Mommy says-"

"Is your mother here right now?" Stefan interrupted.

"No," Felicity shook her head.

"Exactly," Stefan nodded. "I'm the one who's in charge and I say it's okay. So go ahead and do it. Try that pretty little girl in the blue dress over there."

"Okay," Felicity sighed. "But if Mommy finds out and yells at me, I'm gonna say it was your idea."

"Go ahead," Stefan told her. "Your mother doesn't expect anything better from me." Then he watched with a smirk on his face as Felicity went up to the little girl and the two of them went in the clubhouse where no one could see.

"You're really a smooth operator, aren't you, Stefan?" Damon asked. "You _want_ her to kill that little girl?"

"Why not?" Stefan shrugged. "She's just _food_, Damon."

Damon scoffed and strode over to the clubhouse, climbing in, even though it was a bit of a squeeze. He found Felicity crying as she drank from the little girl. "I don't want any more!" She said, pushing the girl away. Then she turned to Damon. "I'm gonna be in so much trouble with Mommy."

"What's your name, sweetie?" Damon asked, taking a wadded up napkin out of his pocket and wiping off her face.

"Felicity," Felicity replied, sniffing.

"And what's your mommy's name, Felicity?"

Felicity shrugged. "I don't know."

"Well, come on and let's find out," Damon said. "But first we should probably take care of this."

They watched as the little girl sat up and just as she was about to scream at the sight of Felicity, Damon put a hand over her mouth. "Okay, pay attention," he told Felicity. "What you have to do is look her in the eyes and tell her that she doesn't remember you or that she was bitten."

"That's all I gotta do?" Felicity asked in surprise.

"Yeah," Damon nodded. "Pretty much."

"Okay," Felicity replied, locking eyes with the girl. "You don't remember me, or that I bit you. Everything is okay."

"Very good," Damon said. "Now you go back with Stefan and I'll just make _sure_ that she forgets."

"Are you gonna kill her?" Felicity asked.

"No!" Damon shook his head. "I'm just gonna do what you did again. Since I'm older, my powers are stronger than yours and thus more effective."

"Okay," Felicity nodded. "Thank you, Mister."

When she got back to Stefan, she said, "Who's that that was talking to you?"

"That's my brother, Damon," Stefan told her. "Are you hungry anymore?"

"No," Felicity shook her head. "I'm better."

"Good," Stefan nodded, ruffling her hair. "I'm proud of you."

"Thank you," Felicity replied.

"And your mother won't get mad at you," Stefan assured her. "Even _she_ eats people sometimes. Less often than she should, but she still does it. You shouldn't have to worry about getting in trouble."

"Yeah, I don't know why I thought I would be in trouble," Felicity nodded. "Daddy eats people all the time and Mommy never yells at _him._"

"Exactly," Stefan nodded.

When Damon got back, Felicity said, "Is she okay?"

"Yeah," Damon nodded. "She'll be fine."

Felicity let out a breath and nodded. "That's good. I was scared there for a minute." She looked at Stefan. "Uncle Stefan, can we go home now? I don't want to play any more."

"Awww," Stefan groaned. "Why not? I thought you were having fun."

Felicity nodded. "I was, but now I'm not and I wanna go home."

"Is it because you had to eat from that little girl?" Stefan asked.

Felicity's cheeks went pink. "Kinda."

Stefan sighed. "Fine," he said. "Get in the car."

Felicity went to the car and Damon put a hand on Stefan's shoulder. "You could have been a little nicer, you know. She's just a kid."

"What do you want me to do?" Stefan asked. "Start calling her 'Cookie Monster' and reading her bedtime stories?"

"Again with the cracks about Lucy!" Damon cried in exasperation. "You know, I feel sorry for that little girl, being stuck with you and Klaus as role models. I really do."

* * *

Laura pulled at the lace collar on her dress and frowned. "Daddy, why do I have to wear this stupid thing? I feel like an idiot!"

"It makes you look beautiful," Elijah told her. "Plus, you're meeting a special friend of mine and I don't want her to be intimidated. She hasn't spent a lot of time around children.

"Does 'special friend' mean someone you like more than Mom?" Laura asked. "I hate her already."

Elijah opened his mouth to reply to this, but Gregory beat him to it. "It's not nice to hate people," he told his sister. "Especially if you haven't met them."

"Oh, go bother somebody _else,_ Gregory!" Laura replied, rolling her eyes.

"Do _you_ have any opinions you need to get out, Colin?" Elijah asked.

"No," Colin shook his head. "I'm good."

Just then, the doorbell rang. Elijah opened the door and Katherine strode in. She wore a tight black dress that showed off her cleavage and high heels.

"Well, look at this," she said. She smiled at Gregory and took his hand. "Hi," she said. "I'm Katherine. You're handsome just like your father."

Gregory blushed. "Thank you very much," he said. "I think you're pretty. My name's Gregory."

Katherine laughed. "Nice to meet you, Gregory. I think you and I will become good friends." Then, she moved onto Laura. "Don't try anything," Laura said. "I'm like my mom and I knew she didn't like you, so I know I won't either. But don't be afraid to enjoy these two kissing up to you. I can see they're enjoying themselves _a lot._" She strode off, leaving Colin and Gregory to vie for Katherine's attention.

"I'm sorry," Elijah said to her. "Laura's usually much nicer than this." He strode down the hallway, knocked sharply on Laura's bedroom door, and said in his sternest voice, "Laura Christina Mikaelson, you open this door right now, young lady!"

"No!" Laura yelled. "I hate that lady and I'm not coming out until _she_ leaves!"


	17. A Step In the Right Direction

The phone began ringing but Selina, who was deeply absorbed in a marathon of Gilligan's Island, didn't hear it. Finally, Anna picked it up.

"Yes?" She asked "Elijah, what's going on?" Selina's ears pricked up at the name and she turned slightly from the TV.

"Yes, she's here," Anna said. "Sure she can come. It'll be good for her to get out of the house. All right, she'll be there in a bit." Anna put the phone down. "Selina, Elijah says-" But she was cut off as Selina sped out of the room. She showered and dried her hair, then pondered about what to wear. With Katherine as competition, it had to be something hot. She looked through her duffel bag she'd brought from home and finding nothing sufficiently sexy, decided to go straight to her lingerie drawer. She dressed, put on a rain coat that she'd left on desk chair, and went downstairs. "I'm on my way," she told Anna. "I don't know how long I'm gonna be."

* * *

"What do you want?" Katherine asked when she opened the door and found herself face to face with Selina, who was wearing a cream-colored trench coat with black buttons.

"Sorry," Selina said, shutting her coat and pushing Katherine aside to get in the house. "I wasn't expecting you to open the door. Is Elijah home?"

"Yeah," Katherine nodded. "What do you want with him?"

"He called me and asked for me to come over here," Selina informed her. "I'm curious about why."

"It probably has something to do with that brat daughter of yours," Katherine replied, eyes narrowed. "She hasn't come out of her room since Elijah brought me here to introduce me to her and her brothers. And they took my being here a lot better than she did."

"Well, I have to compliment my daughter on being a good judge of bad character," Selina replied.

Then, Elijah finally appeared. "Selina, good , you're here. Will you _please_ go and talk to Laura? She's not handling my new relationship well and I know you're the only one she'll listen to."

Selina sighed. "Fine," she said. "I'll talk to her, but I don't know how successful I'll be, since I can't even make _myself_ pretend to like Katherine."

"Well, try!" Elijah snapped. And then his tone softened just a little. "Please."

Selina nodded and headed up to Laura's room, knocking softly on the door. "I'm not coming out, Daddy!" Laura called.

"It's not your father," Selina called. "It's your mother."

Laura got up and ran to get the door, inviting Selina in. "You're back, Mommy!" She exclaimed, her voice full of excitement. "You came home!"

"I'm sorry, sweetie," Selina replied, taking Laura in her lap. "I'm not here for good. I only came because your daddy said you haven't handled me being gone well."

"It's because of the horrible lady!" Laura replied. "I don't like her and I want her gone!"

"Well, locking yourself in your room won't help anything," Selina told her. "Sadly, I think this is something you're just gonna have to deal with for awhile."

"How can Daddy like her?" Laura asked. "He loves _you_."

"I know," Selina nodded. "But I made a big mistake that hurt your daddy very much, so now I have to make it better. And one way I'm doing that is by staying away from your uncle and finding other ways to entertain myself that don't involve him."

"You mean you don't have _anybody_?" Laura asked. "You're all alone? That's not very nice!" She stood up and strode over to the door, opening it and striding out. A few minutes later, she came back with Elijah. "Say you're sorry to Mommy!" She demanded. "Then kiss her and make up!"

"No, Laura," Selina said. "He doesn't have to. I did the bad thing to him. If anyone should tell him sorry, it's me."

"But he was gone before," Laura told her. "You would have been alone then too, if Uncle Klaus wasn't there."

"The reason why your daddy was gone before was because he got hurt by your grandfather while trying to save me," Selina told her. "He didn't just choose to leave me all alone. It happened because he loves me and didn't want me to be dead and I should have respected that, but I didn't."

Laura looked up at her father, who had avoided Selina's eyes and was staring down at his shoes. "See?" She asked. "Mommy is sorry. Kiss her now."

"I don't feel like it," Elijah told her. "What makes you think I'll kiss your mother just because you say so?"

Laura grinned, left the room, and locked the door behind her. "Until you kiss Mommy and say 'I love you', I'm not letting you out of my room!"

"Well, this is awkward," Selina told Elijah.

"We're not going to do what she says," Elijah replied. "I refuse to let myself be ordered around by a child!"

Selina untied her coat and let it fall to the floor, revealing a rose-colored baby doll nightie with tiny shorts underneath, pink fishnet stockings and heels. "Are you sure?" She asked. "Don't you want to humor the kid just a little bit?"

Elijah locked eyes with her and pulled her to him, but just when Selina thought they were going to kiss, he shook his head and pushed her away. "Laura!" He yelled, jiggling the doorknob. "Let us out right now!"

"No," Laura replied. "I don't hear kissing, I just hear fighting!"

Elijah growled in frustration and turned back to Selina. "So," she said, sashaying towards him and putting her arms around his neck. "Why don't you pucker up?"

* * *

"What are you _doing_?" Gregory asked Laura.

"Mommy and Daddy are in here," Laura replied, her head against the door. "I'm not letting them out until they kiss and make up!"

"I think that's a bad idea," Gregory told her. "Stop pushing them and let things happen like they're supposed to happen. Mom and Dad will get back together if you just be patient!"

"But if we wait, we'll still have to put up with that Katherine lady, and do you want that?" Laura asked.

"Sure," Gregory said, a look of fondness in his eyes. "I wouldn't mind that."

Laura shut her eyes tight and pushed her brother. "Are you _crazy_?" She asked. "You're supposed to want her to go _away_!"

"I know it might seem hard for you to believe," Gregory began, "but you're really the only one in this house who doesn't like her."

"Are you trying to tell me that you never want Mommy and Daddy to be together just because a woman said you were cute?" Laura asked. "That's dumb! Really, _really _stupid! Now do something to make her go away!"

Sighing in exasperation, Gregory sneaked outside, and called over one of their next door neighbors, compelling him to drive Elijah's car some distance away so that it wouldn't be seen until he was told to bring it back. Then, he went back inside, where he ran into Katherine.

"Have you seen your father?" She asked. "We were doing something and then he up and disappeared on me!"

"He left," Gregory said.

"Oh," Katherine nodded and kissed him on the cheek. "I guess I'll come back later then, when he's here."

"All right," Gregory said, taking her hand and walking her out to her car. "Come back soon!"

* * *

"Stop agonizing over this," Selina told Elijah, who was still pounding away at the bedroom door and yelling at Laura to release them. She strode over to him, her bottom wiggling, and put her arms around his neck, then unbuttoned his shirt and moved her fingers down his bare chest. He growled and Selina knew he was trying his hardest not to give in to her. "How hard would it be to give her what she wants? You don't even have to like it."

Elijah sighed. "Fine," he whispered. "But briefly and my hands will stay firmly on your waist."

Selina nodded. "Laura!" She called. "We're gonna kiss now. Do you want to see?"

"Yes!" Laura cried eagerly, running into the room. She sat down on the floor and watched them with a big grin on her face. "Nice outfit, Mommy,"

Selina flushed a little. "Thank you, honey," she replied. Then, she turned back to Elijah and he put his hands lightly on her waist before they gave each other a brief peck on the lips. "There," Elijah told Laura, as he grabbed Selina's coat and put it over her shoulders. "We kissed like you asked, now let us out."

"But that wasn't _really_ a kiss!" Laura complained. "It was too short!"

"Well, it's all you're getting, so be grateful," He told her. "I'm going to go look for Katerina and have a romantic evening with her."

"She's gone," Gregory said.

"Why is she gone?" Elijah asked.

"Cause she saw that your car was gone, so she left," Gregory told him.

"_What_?" Elijah asked, running toward the door that looking into the garage and opened it, noting in a panic that his car wasn't there. "Where is it?" He asked. "Where is it, Gregory?"

Gregory sighed. "I had one of the neighbors take it away," he said. "But I compelled him to bring it back when I asked!"

"Why would you do something so foolish, Gregory?" Elijah asked through his teeth.

"Laura was being stupid and she made it seem like the only way she'd _stop_ being stupid is if Katherine left."

"Do you hate her too?" Elijah asked. "Are you going to join your sister in causing trouble for me?"

"No," Laura said. "He won't. He thinks she's _pretty!" _ She gagged and pretended to throw up.

"Laura, be polite," Selina reprimanded her daughter. "Even though you don't like Katherine, you at least owe her courtesy because your father likes her and you should be civil to anyone who makes your father happy, even if they aren't me."

Laura nodded. "Okay, Mommy. I'll do my best."

"Do you have something to say to your father?" Selina asked.

Laura nodded and went to take Elijah's hand. "I'm sorry I was mean to Katherine, Daddy," she said. "I'll be nicer next time."

Elijah patted her on the head. "It's all right, Princess," he assured her. "Just remember to be polite in the future, like I know your mother raised you to be. It would make me so happy to see you and Katherine at least be in the same room without any fights happening. Can you do that?"

"Yeah," Laura nodded. "I can." He nodded. "Why don't you go work on some homework? I'll come help you later if you need it."

Laura scampered off and then Elijah locked eyes with Selina. "Thank you," he said. "Thank you for your help."

Selina nodded. "You're welcome. If you don't need me for anything else, I'll be on my way now."

"Yes," Elijah nodded. "I think I'll go and ask Gregory where in the world he put my car."

Selina grinned. "Good luck with that. I hope you find it."

* * *

"Are you going to be with Luke more today?" James asked Lenora the next day.

She shrugged. "Possibly. It's nice to be with someone my own age and have a friend to talk to, you know? Then things don't feel so lonely."

"How can you be lonely?" James asked. "You have me and Max and...and the cat. You're not alone!"

Lenora nodded, taking his hand and giving it a squeeze. "I know I have all of you and I'm grateful, but it's not the same. Luke and I, we talk about things, and he makes me laugh, and it's just like being back home with Daniel."

Just then, Luke appeared. "Morning everyone!" He said. Lenora and Max both greeted him cordially, but James just let out a grunt. Luke moved to sit in a seat next to Lenora, but James stood up quickly. "You can't sit there!" He said. "It's _my_ seat!"

"You weren't sitting here before," Luke pointed out.

"Well, um," James began, "I usually wait to sit there because I...oh, I don't have to explain anything to you! Just_ move_!"

"Okay, okay!" Luke replied. "Jeez!" He sat on the opposite side of the table and eyed James sourly.

Lenora looked back and forth between them and cleared her throat. "Okay then," she said. "What will we all be doing today?"

"Nothing different than the usual," James said. He looked at Luke. "You ready to start learning from me, boy?"

"I was thinking that we might hold off just one more day," Luke said. "I want to take Lenora out and thank her for all the help she's given me."

James smirked. "And where do you plan on taking her when you go out? There aren't exactly a lot of restaurants or anything like that around."

"We can use magic outside of the castle, can't we?" Luke asked.

"Yes," Max nodded. "That's correct."

"Well, then," Luke grinned. "We should have no trouble at all figuring out things to do tonight. If Lenora agrees to go with me, that is."

"Sure," Lenora nodded. "I'm looking forward to it."

* * *

"Why are you acting so antsy?" Lenora asked James that night as he stood at the door of one of the spare rooms watching her get ready to go out with Luke. "You're acting like I'm gonna leave and never come back!"

"Well, I know _that's_ not possible," James said. "You're obligated to stay with me for as long as I wish. But keep in mind that you don't have that same obligation to Luke or anyone else."

"Yeah, I know," Lenora nodded. "I wouldn't let him do anything to me without permission. You don't have to worry about that when it comes to me, but I think it's sweet that you are. Thanks." She paused. "Would you mind zipping up my dress?"

"Of course," James nodded. He walked up behind her and reached out to zip her up, but let his fingers run down her back instead. Lenora shut her eyes. "Do you need help finding the zipper?" She asked.

"What?" James asked, whipping his eyes away from her bottom.

"I asked if you needed help finding the zipper," Lenora repeated.

"No," James replied quickly. He zipped her up in a flash and then she turned around and smiled at him. "I wonder if I'm gonna have a good time tonight," she mused.

"Do you doubt you will?" James asked.

Lenora shrugged. "I don't know. I guess we'll see."

* * *

"What time is it, Max?" James asked later that night as he paced restlessly in front of the fireplace.

Max looked at his watch. "It's just five minutes from the last time you asked me," he said. "Would it help if you sat down?"

"What is taking them so long?" James fumed. "There's hardly anything to _do_ around here. They should have been back a long time ago!"

"Relax," Max told him. "They could be having a good time. They'll get back when they get back."

"This is not the sort of place where people are allowed to have a good time!" James snapped. "Things are supposed to be miserable and stressful and awful!"

"You're certainly showing that," Max remarked. "Just sit down and take a deep breath, would you?"

James sat down reluctantly, but ordered Max to give him his watch. Tension lasted a bit longer in the room until they heard footsteps and chatter coming from outside. "Finally!" James cried, standing up. "I thought they'd _never_ get back!" He opened the door a crack just in time to see Luke's lips touch Lenora's and it was not a brief kiss, either.

"That little..." James muttered under his breath. "I ought to murder that brat in his sleep!"

"Why?" Max asked. "What's he done?"

"He's put his lips all over Lenora!" James replied in an angry whisper. "Who gave him permission to do that?!"

"I'm sure she did," Max replied. "Now come back here and sit on the sofa so she doesn't realize that you're spying on her."

Reluctantly, James went to sit on the sofa and when Luke and Lenora entered and Luke left to go to his room, Lenora sighed and collapsed next to James on the couch.

"How was it?" Max asked. "Did you have fun?"

"It was okay," Lenora answered. She looked uncomfortable. "James, may I talk to you?"

"Of course," James nodded. "Why don't we talk in my room?" They went to his room, which was the master bedroom of the castle and sat together on his bed. "So what's wrong?" He asked. "Care to share?"

Lenora sighed. "You're just gonna think it's silly."

"No, I won't!" James insisted. "Tell me."

"Okay," Lenora nodded. "I had lots of fun and everything was going great until he kissed me."

"I _knew_ there was something wrong with that!" James said yelled, his voice full of righteous indignation. "Max said that you probably gave Luke permission, but if he just did it without asking you first-"

"It's not that," Lenora shook her head. "I told him it was okay, it's just that he's not as good a kisser as you are." After she made this confession, her face turned bright red and she hopped off the bed and ran toward the door, but James gently put a hand on her arm to stop her. "Where are you going?" He asked.

Lenora looked straight at him and he was shocked to see that her eyes were a little wet. "I feel so stupid saying things like that to you," she told him. "I realize you probably don't care about me, so why don't we just pretend I never said anything and then I won't have to worry about feeling foolish." She turned away, but James took her hand. "Look at me," he said. "Lenora, look at me, please."

Reluctantly, she turned to face him. He put his hands on either side of her face and leaned forward so that their foreheads were touching. "May I kiss you?" He asked.

"Yes," Lenora nodded, her breath mingling with his. The kiss deepened and he picked her up and carried her to the bed, where they kissed a little longer. Then, Lenora broke the kiss and let out a huge yawn. "Sorry about that," she said. "It's just that I'm so tired!" She lay her head on his shoulder and as he put his arms around her, her breathing became even and her body relaxed. James picked her up and was about to carry her to her mat by the fire when he decided against it. He sat back down on the bed, his chin resting on her head, and then when he felt himself getting sleepy, he slowly lowered himself onto the mattress, still clutching Lenora to him. They ended up next to one another, asleep on their sides with his arm around her waist. They didn't turn the lights off, but when they failed to return to the living room, Max came looking for them. He saw them on the bed, grinned, turned off the light and shut the bedroom door behind him.


	18. You Can't Hurry Love

James was awake first the next morning. He looked down at Lenora with longing, thinking that she looked so pretty when the sunlight washed over her face. his hand reached out to gently stroke her cheek. He looked around, and then leaned forward to kiss her softly on the lips.

Lenora rolled over just after and inadvertently smacked James in the face, causing him to move back a little. "Ay!" He yelled. "What did you do that for?"

Lenora's eyes widened. She said up and looked around. "What am I doing in your bed?" She asked him. "And what was that you just did there? Do you think you're the prince come to wake up Sleeping Beauty or something?"

"Oh, I don't know," James sighed. "It seemed like a good idea at the time, but now I wish I hadn't done it. And don't flatter yourself. You're no prettier than any other girl."

Lenora scoffed. "At least I'm still dressed," she replied. "I compliment you on your self-control."

"I am a gentleman!" James defended himself. "And despite the fact that you don't exactly fit the title, I would _never_ violate a lady."

"How kind," Lenora replied dryly.

"Enough of that from you!" James snapped. "Get dressed and and get to work. That's what you're here for, don't you forget."

"Oh, I don't see how I could," Lenora informed him. "You remind me every chance you get!"

"I want sausage for breakfast," he said, following her. "And potatoes. And eggs, and bacon."

"I think I'll make oatmeal," Lenora remarked. "All that grease can't be good for you." She looked down at him. "And you need to keep in shape to handle the prisoners. You won't have any power as a warden if you get so fat they can outrun you."

James frowned. "I'll have you know that I am in _very_ good shape, thank you very much."

"Oh, really?" Lenora asked. "I don't believe you, Maybe you should show me."

"Well, all right," he said. "If you insist. But not right now. I'm afraid it will have to wait."

"I think you're a chicken," Lenora told him. "I think you talk a good game, but that's all it is: talk. I've shown you more than you've ever shown me."

He smirked. "Well, that was your choice to be a little trollop, wasn't it?" He asked. "I never asked you to."

"I know that," Lenora replied. "But if you're gonna brag about how good you look, the least you could do is return the favor! Can't you_ at least _take off your shirt?"

"Well, I don't know," James replied. "Even if I _was_ interested in objectifying myself just to make you happy, I think after that little oatmeal comment of yours, the desire has suddenly faded."

"If I told you I was sorry," Lenora said through her teeth. "Would you just take off your damn shirt?"

"How's an apology going to help me?" James asked. "An apology won't get me fed. Start cooking, will you?"

"You could say _please_," Lenora muttered under her breath.

"Oh, of course I could," James told her. "Of course I could be the bigger person and be polite to the little girl who as good as called me fat. But I'm not that sort of person, so," He smacked her on the bottom and grinned. "Get to work."

She turned. "Luke may be a lousy kisser, but at least he treats me better than you! You might think about that."

James yawned. "I can't believe you're using_ that boy _as a tool to make me jealous. Since your little announcement yesterday, any power he might have had to make me jealous is gone." He put his feet on the table, crossed at the ankles, and looked smug.

"Here," she said, plunking an omelette down after a bit. "Bacon is on the way, although I really think it's distasteful for you to be eating your own kind." She thought it would make him angry, but when he heard it, he spit his milk all over the table because he was laughing so hard.

"Here!" Lenora snapped, handing him a damp rag. "Clean up your mess, would you?"

Still laughing, tears streaming down his cheeks, James took the rag from her and wiped up the table. "You're a funny girl," he said. "Things were never so entertaining before you came here."

"That was not meant as a joke," Lenora said, her eyes narrowed. "It was meant as an insult! Can't you _ever_ take anything the way it was intended?"

"No," he said. "I can't."

"Fighting as usual?" Max asked as he came in. "That's reassuring at least. Just promise not to kill each other, okay?"

"You don't have to worry about that, Max," Lenora replied. "If he killed me, who would fix his meals and clean his house? He wouldn't want to deprive himself of his slave."

"Actually, if you weren't here to do it, I would," Max told her. "But I'm sure he thinks you're much nicer to look at."

"Yes," James said, staring openly at Lenora's botton as she leaned down to grab another pan from the cabinet. "She definitely is."

"Okay!" Lenora said, slamming the pan down on the table and turning around. "Leave us, would you, Max? I think I need to be alone with my lord and master for awhile."

"Of course," Max told her. "When you need me to help you move the body, I'll be in my room. Can I take some bacon with me?"

"Sure," Lenora told him. "Take whatever you want."

Max grabbed some bacon and left and then Lenora angrily strode over to James, who was standing against the table and smirking. "Okay," she said. "I know what you were doing and I demand restitution!"

"Oh?" James' eyes twinkled. "And how do you propose to get that?"

Without saying a word, she ripped off his shirt and pulled him to her, kissing him hard.

"You know," he said when she pulled away briefly, "That was my good shirt."

"Oh, shut up and get on the table," Lenora replied, then her mouth swallowed his again.

"On the table?" James asked. "Really? The _table?_" He was breathing hard.

"The table, the floor, the bed, who the hell cares?" Lenora cried. "Just-let's go _somewhere_!"

James looked at her in surprise. "You're really worked up, aren't you?" he asked.

"Yeah," Lenora nodded. "I am." She took off her clothes and threw them in a pile on the floor. "Just to give you more motivation," she said.

"Honestly dear," he said, lowering her to the floor, "I really didn't need much more." He got down on his knees and kissed down her stomach and in a trail down her belly. When he was just above her center, she felt tingles go through her and she breathed in sharply.

"Don't be frightened," he said.

"I'm not frightened!" She snapped.

"Well, I wanted to make sure, because you know, you _are_ a virgin," he licked his lips. "It's been awhile since I've had a virgin."

She moaned. "Oh, god, stop!" She said. "Stop making me suffer this way!"

"All right, all right," he said, hovering over her. He kissed her and then sat back to remove his pants. She watched in fascination, her eyes wide when his pants lay in a crumpled heap on the floor. "Wow," she said. "Are you-would you be considered _big_?" She asked.

"Well, I don't like to brag," he said. "But in my younger days, I had quite a good reputation among the village ladies. Even the ones with husbands." He grinned again and heat shot through Lenora's body.

"Oh, god," she whispered, breathing in sharply. "Not again."

He ran his fingers through her hair. "I suppose I should be kind," he said. "And end all your suffering."

"Yes," she nodded. "Please."

He kissed her again, then gently pushed into her, yet she still let out a shriek that brought Luke running. Lenora saw his face over James' shoulder.

"Are you all right?" Luke asked.

"Yes!" Lenora nodded as James began kissing down her neck. "Oh, yes, I'm just _wonderful_!"

"I'm surprised you could do this with the cat watching you," Luke commented. "Maybe he needs attention. Perhaps you should stop messing around and feed him or something. Who _knows_ how long he's been there?"

* * *

Elijah sat at the desk in his office looking through his file of stories about Mr. Richmond and Miss Stinson. When he'd gone through what he thought was enough, he put the binder back on the desk.

"What am I going to do with this?" He asked himself. Should he burn it? Make sure that no evidence that he ever loved Selina ever existed? That was something that she deserved for sure, but part of him just wouldn't allow it. Then, an idea struck him. He got out a pen and began writing again.

_The day after Miss Stinson's unfortunate dismissal, Mr. Richmond put an ad in the paper for a new secretary. Over the next few days, he interviewed several girls, but none of them seemed right, until the day _ she_ entered the office. She was wearing a plum suit with a skirt that was a little briefer than he thought appropriate for the office, but he supposed he could let that go. She sat down in the seat across from his desk and grinned at him as she handed over her resume and crossed one lovely leg over the other. Though he knew it was impolite, Mr. Richmond couldn't help but stare at the bit of thigh that was exposed. Finally, she grinned at him, her brown eyes sparkling, and covered up her leg. "Is that better?" She asked with a cheeky grin. "Will you be able to focus now?"_

_"Oh, yes," Mr. Richmond nodded, blushing a little. "Forgive me for staring, Miss Porter."_

_She shrugged. "There's nothing to forgive. I'm very proud of the body I have and I have no trouble showing it off. And call me Karen. Please."_

_They went through the interview process and everything seemed in order._

_"All right," he said. "You're hired."_

_She grinned. "Well, thank you," she replied, pushing her long brown hair out of her eyes. "But before I start, can I ask what happened to the girl who worked with you before me?"_

_"I'd prefer not to discuss it," he said briefly. "Let's just say she was lured away by my rival and leave it at that."_

_"Oh," She nodded. "I don't know why she'd want to leave when she has a handsome man like you for a boss." She kicked off one of her heels under the desk and ran her foot up his leg. "I can promise you _I_ have no interest in leaving you."_

A knock on his office door startled him and he made a line with the pen on the paper. "Oh, damn!" He whispered. "Come in!" The door opened and Katherine entered, coming around to kiss him on the neck. "I'm ready to go to the hotel if you are," she said. "Why do we always have to go to a hotel? Why can't we just do it here? In your bed?" She blew in his ear and he shut his eyes and tried to control his breathing.

"You know I can't do that," he said. "It wouldn't be right."

"Why not?" Katherine asked with a smirk. "Because it's your and Selina's bed? Why does it matter? I thought you hated her now."

"I'm not _happy_ with her now," Elijah admitted. "But 'hate' is such a strong word. I'd like to think that with the proper amount of repentence on her part, I'd be ready to take her back."

Katherine had been rubbing his shoulders, but when she heard that, she stopped.

"What's the matter?" Elijah asked. "Why are you stopping?"

"Because I can't believe you plan on letting Selina back into your life!" Katherine pouted. "Think about what she did to you!"

"I'm well aware of what she did to me," Elijah told her. "But, very deep down, there's a part of me that still loves her. And when you and I decided to reconnect, we decided that that's all it was going to be. Nothing deeper."

Katherine sighed. "Oh, all right." She looked down at the binder. "What are you doing?" She asked. "Did I interrupt your work?"

"I wouldn't so much call it work as a sort of catharsis," Elijah told her. He opened it up and showed it to her. "It's a story. Or a vignette, I suppose would be a more appropriate discriptor. I started writing them before Selina and I got together as a way to deal with my feelings for her while she was still with my brother."

"Oh," Katherine nodded. "And you're looking at them again and musing on the good old days. What a quaint coping mechanism."

"Actually," Elijah replied, "I'm not exactly. I've decided to add _you_ into the story."

"Is that so?" Katherine asked. "So what am I? A stewardess? A nurse? A sexy teacher?"

"My secretary," he said. "Selina _was,_ but after what she and Niklaus did, I decided to write her out for a bit and give the character that is me a new secretary. And that is you."

"How did Selina feel about being your secretary in these stories?" Katherine asked. "I don't remember much about her, but I _do_ remember that she hated being subordinate to anybody."

"Well," Elijah grinned, "in this case, she made an exception. Now, do you want to keep talking about words all day, or get to the hotel? We only have so long before the kids get back from school."

When they reached the hotel, the worker at the reception desk noticed they didn't have any bags and grinned at them. "So...a room for the two of you, then? Is it hard to find time alone during the week?"

"That's none of your business!" Elijah snapped. "Just get us a room, please!"

The man blustered around finally producing a key. "Room 3105 should be good for you," he said. "Enjoy your stay."

"Thank you!" Katherine said to him as Elijah hustled her away. "I'm sure we will!"

They finally got into the room, Elijah slammed the door behind them and immediately began kissing Katherine's neck, his hands going all over her body.

"Wow," she said. "I thought I was gonna get more foreplay, but all right."

That brought Elijah pause. "I'm sorry," he said. "But you know and I know the real reason why we're doing this."

"Yeah," Katherine nodded. "Because you have needs and you're too pissed off at your wife to ask her to handle them, so_ I'm _doing it!"

"Does that bother you?" Elijah asked.

"No," Katherine shook her head. "I just want to be sure of where I stand. And now that I know, you can continue. I know that taking that pause most be killing you."

"You're right," Elijah conceded, kissing her again. "It is." In a matter of seconds, they were both undressed and rolling around on the bed. Luckily for them, they had remembered to put the "Do Not Disturb" sign on the doorknob of their room, so they were able to go on for awhile without interruption.

A few weeks later, the same scenario was in place, except the kids got let out of school early. Knowing that their father was busy during the day, Gregory called Selina to let her know. She came to pick them up and dropped them off at home. Realizing that there was no one else to watch them, she decided to stay until Elijah returned.

"Why don't you kids do your homework until your dad gets home?" She suggested. "I'll be in the living room reading if you need any help."

They all left and she sat in the living room trying to read a book, but found concentration difficult. Finally, she put the book down and snuck into Elijah's room. She looked around and even though she should have expected it, the fact that there were no pictures of her and Elijah out was still very jarring. She looked around a little more and then she heard a voice.

"The pictures of you and Daddy are in the bottom drawer of the dresser," Laura said quietly.

"I wasn't looking for them," Selina told her. "I just came in here because, um...I had a thing to pick up that I left here."

"Uh-huh," Lenora nodded. "Right. Come to my room quick. I have something to show you."

"Okay," Selina replied, running after her. "What is it?"

They went into Laura's very pink bedroom and she pulled a binder off the floor of her open closet. "Read this," she said. "Daddy wrote a story."

Selina took it from her. "I know about this," she replied. "Your father wrote it about me before we fell in love."

She began flipping through the pages until the name "Karen" caught her eye.

"I think I'll take this to the living room to read," she said. "Have you finished your homework?"

"Yes," Laura nodded. "And I already had Gregory look it over for me. He said I did good."

"Well, that's nice," Selina replied absently. She was beginning to get involved in the story of Mr. Richmond and his new secretary, Karen, who had been hired after Miss Stinson was ousted.

"..._She was wearing a plum suit with a skirt that was a little briefer than he thought appropriate for the office, but he supposed he could let that go._" Selina rolled her eyes. Of course he could let it go! The only reason why she was even in the story was because he was horny and needed some socially acceptable way to deal with his 'feelings'. She scoffed. "At least," she said to herself after she finished reading, "at least when _I'm_ in the stories, I'm wearing nothing. I don't know how I did it, but even when she's fully clothed, he's made her seem much trampier than I ever was."

"What do you want?" Elijah asked Selina when she came by the next day. "I'm not in the mood to talk or reconcile or anything like that."

"I didn't come for that. I just came to give this back to you," Selina told him as she handed him the binder with the story in it. He snatched the binder away, a shocked look on his face. "How did you get this? You didn't take it, did you?"

"No," Selina shook her head. "Laura brought it to me. Said she wanted me to read the story that her daddy wrote."

"I hope for your sake that you didn't. This is my private business!"

Selina grinned. "Oh, please," she said. "I know all about those stories of yours...and how Miss Stinson is me, and how Mr. Richmond is you, and how apparently, he has a slutty new secretary named Karen..."

"So you _did _read it!" Elijah burst out.

"Yeah," Selina nodded. "Miss Stinson's been a bad girl, hasn't she?" She asked, averting her eyes. "She really hurt Mr. Richmond bad."

Elijah nodded. "She did. And I doubt that she's sorry about it."

"Oh, she is!" Selina nodded insistently. "She's _very _sorry she hurt Mr. Richmond. She had no idea until right now just how much she hurt him and she wants him to know, even though she said it before, that she's awfully sorry and she'll never, ever do anything dumb like that again."

"I doubt she feels bad," Elijah scoffed. "I think she's _proud _of what she did."

"Clearly we're never gonna see eye to eye on that subject, so can I just comment on this new 'Karen' character you've put in there?" Selina asked. "That's supposed to be Katherine, isn't it? I could tell by how trampy she is. You've written her to be_ way _dirtier than I ever was. And I'm okay with that cause the Mr. Richmond I know would never be attracted to someone that cheap, at least not permanently, I mean, come on. She's clearly just a shallow way for Mr. Richmond to entertain himself while he secretly pines away for Miss Stinson! I mean,_ really_, I-" She broke off as he pulled her to him and kissed her long and hard. When he finally let her go, she looked stunned.

"Well, that's much better," Elijah replied, taking the binder back.

"What did you do that for?" Selina finally asked. "I thought you hated me too much for that."

"Yes, well," Elijah replied. "If it will make you silent, I'm willing to make any sacrifice."

Selina's eyes narrowed. "Yeah, well, it was nice kissing you too. And I really, really am sorry. If the stuff in there about how hurt Mr. Richmond was by what Miss Stinson did is how you honestly feel, I just...there's nothing else I can do except apologize and hope you can find it in yourself to give me another chance so I can make it up to you like you deserve."

"I know you're sorry," Elijah said. "I just don't know if that's enough. But if I decide it is, I'll let you know, and you can feel free to come groveling back. All right?"

Selina nodded. "Okay," she replied. "Thank you."


	19. An Everlasting Love

Damon heard banging and grunting and followed the sound to his and Lucy's bedroom. He knocked on the closed door and called out to her, "Cookie Monster, you're not in there with anyone, are you?"

"Of course not!" Lucy called back. "You can come in if you want!"

Damon entered the room and saw that Lucy was putting clothes and toiletries into a large suitcase on the bed. He raised an eyebrow. "Are we taking a trip that I'm not aware of?" He asked.

"_We_ are not," Lucy said. "I am. Alone. By myself."

"Where are you going?" Damon asked. "And why would you need that many clothes?"

"I heard something terrible in the transmissions Tobias sent," Lucy replied. "That _guy_ that has Lenora was...he was sleeping with her!"

"What's wrong with that?" Damon asked. "She's old enough. She's at least the same age you were the first time you and I did it. And you know she'd punch the guy's face in if he tried anything and she had a problem with it. I think you're worrying over nothing."

Lucy looked up, her eyes narrowed. "Don't you *dare* compare you and me to her and that guy! When you and I first had sex, we loved each other!"

"Yeah, until you let your dad and your uncle beat me up," Damon pointed out. "Remember that? I do."

"You still had a thing for my mom!" Lucy burst out. "You can't blame me for being upset about that!"

Damon nodded. "Point taken. But I still think this trip of yours is a bad idea. Do you have any idea where you're *going*, even?"

"No," Lucy shook her head. "But I bet if I asked Astrid or Alistair, they'd tell me the way."

"You know what?" Damon asked. "Why don't I go pack too, because we clearly need to get you out of here before that transmitter drives you completely insane."

"Fine," Lucy told him. "You can come with me, but I'm still going."

"And there's no way to change your mind about this?" Damon asked. "And get you to go on a nice trip to the Caribbean instead?"

"No," Lucy shook her head resolutely. "As long as Lenora is being held prisoner, I'm not gonna be able to think of anything else. So I can go alone, or you can come with me, but the point is that we're going."

Damon sighed. "Fine," he groaned. "But I just want to make it clear that you owe me for this. And I mean _big_."

"Oh, you'll get rewarded," Lucy told him with a twinkle in her eye. "Don't you worry."

* * *

"Is Astrid home?" Lucy asked when Alistair opened the door and let her and Damon inside.

"Not at the moment," Alistair shook his head. "Why?"

"Because Lenora is in trouble!" Lucy replied. "We need to figure out how to get to wherever she is so that we can fix it!"

Alistair gave her a kind smile. "I've not heard anything about Lenora being in any more trouble than is expected, but I promise, if there was something truly wrong, Astrid and the other members of the council would attend to it. I promise."

"See?" Damon said. "Everything is fine. Now come on." He began trying to tug Lucy back toward the door

Just then, Astrid strode into the house. She seemed flustered, but when she saw Lucy and Damon, she breathed a sigh of relief. "Well, thank goodness," she said. "I was just about to call you. We need to go see about Lenora."

Lucy slipped her arm out of Damon's grasp and cried out triumphantly, "See? I told you it was a problem!" She hurried over to Astrid. "We came over here to talk to you about it. What do we do?"

"Come with me," Astrid told her. "You'll have to come with me. Going through the council building is the only way to get where she is. And no one will give you any trouble because you're with me."

* * *

"If she's given herself to you, I think you owe her the truth," Max told James.

"What truth?" James asked. "I've never lied to her."

"You didn't get her here in the most honest way and she deserves to know," Max told him. "Ideally, you should have told her before you and she had sex, but that's water under the bridge now. I'll call her in here and you can say what you need to say."

"No," James shook his head. "Max, don't you dare!"

But Max didn't listen. He left the room in search of Lenora and when he came back with her, she smiled at James. "Max said you had something important to tell me. What is it?"

"Well, um..." James mumbled. "It's...what I have to say is that...tomorrow is my birthday and I want you to bake me a cake!"

Max frowned. "That's not what he meant to say. Go on, James. Tell her the truth about how she came to be here."

"But I_ know _how I came to be here," Lenora said. "I killed a girl the guy I was attracted to liked more than me."

"Exactly!" James replied. "You came here because you broke the rules. End of story."

Max rolled his eyes. "The boy you loved was a fake," he said. "James created him to _make _you break the rules."

Lenora glared at James. "Were you ever gonna tell me this?" She asked. "And if you were, why did you wait until after you and I...did what we did...to do it?"

"Because," James said, "I thought if I told you, then you'd leave and I didn't want you to."

"So you just decided to manipulate me and _lie_?" Lenora raged. "That was real smart!"

"I don't know why this is all such a surprise to you," James told her. "You know what kind of person I am. This sort of action from me should be expected!"

"And you know what should be expected about me after hearing this?" Lenora asked him. "That you're gonna get your ass kicked!"

"Go ahead," James said with a smirk. "I like girls who play rough!"

Lenora growled and gave him a rough push that surprised him so much he didn't resist as she fell on top of him and began beating him mercilessly. When he was moaning and groaning in agony , she finally decided to get off him and began going after the plates and glassware.

"Not much to break around this hellhole, is there?" She asked Max, looking at the paltry pile of shards that surrounded her.

"No," Max replied sadly. "They wanted to make sure we weren't living too nicely."

"And don't you go telling me he doesn't deserve to be beaten up," Lenora sad to Max. "Because he does!"

"I have not said a single thing," Max told her. "You do what you feel you need to."

She paused, looked around, and then fell upon James again, until a sharp voice stopped her in her tracks. "Lenora!" Astrid cried. "What are you _doing_?" Lucy also was looking very taken aback beside her, but Damon looked intrigued.

"Hello, Miss Astrid," Max said, making a bow. "What brings you here?"

"We were just worried about Lenora," Astrid replied. "And came to see if she was all right."

"Well, clearly," James replied, after coughing up a little blood, "She's fine. Aren't you going to worry about _me?_ I'm the one who's hurt!"

"Well, that's your own fault, isn't it?" Astrid said. "I'm sure Max would be willing to fix you up."

James scoffed. "Of course I'm not worthy of your attention. Nepotism at its finest."

"No, Astrid," Lucy told her. "Heal him, please."

"Are you sure?" Astrid asked. "I thought that you of all people would be the last one to stick up for him, Lucy."

"Would you just do it, please?" Lucy asked. "It's pathetic to watch a man lie there and bleed."

Astrid reluctantly cleaned James up and then Lucy grinned. "Thank you, Astrid," she said sweetly. Then she jumped him too, and began pounding him as mercilessly as Lenora had. "This is for my niece, you lying, scumbag, son of a bitch!" Lucy cried as she hit him. Finally, Damon was able to haul her off him and make her go stand in a corner. Then, he pulled James up.

"Well, thank you," James whispered weakly.

"No problem," Damon said. "Trust me, I've been there." Then he bit his wrist and offered it to James. "Have some," he said. "It will heal you up. It's the least we can do."

"All right," James nodded. "Thank you." He took some of Damon's blood and then after he'd healed, Lucy went in to see Lenora.

"Are you all right?" She asked, putting a hand on Lenora's shoulder and sitting next to her on the floor.

"I just feel like the biggest idiot!" Lenora told her. "Did you know that he _lied_ to get me here? He _created_ a guy, using magic, whom he knew I would fall in love with, and then made him fall in love with another girl! And yes, I killed her, but it wouldn't have happened if he would have just kept his nose out of my business!"

"What in the world did you do to end up here in the first place?" Lucy asked.

Lenora sighed. "It was one of the first times Grandma Astrid took me to the Council building with her," she said. "While she was in a meeting, I met James. He was just hanging around and told me that he _knew_ what Aunt Anna and Roxie had done to get Caroline away from Dad, and that technically, even though Aunt Anna's not a witch, since she was using magic, he could still punish her. And I didn't want that to happen, so I made a deal with him where I would go in her place." She sighed. "Although, now that I know how easy it would have been for Aunt Anna to beat him up, the sacrifice seems hollow and pointless."

Lucy hugged her. "It was a nice gesture," she said. "You meant well. But if you want, I'm sure that Astrid can get you out of here. Do you want to go?"

"I don't think I need to," Lenora told her. "Now that I've gotten most of my anger out, I feel better."

Astrid came in the room. "Here you are," she said. "Pack your things. I'm going to take you home."

"Why?" Lenora asked. "If this is about my little display earlier, I'm better now."

"Actually, I've decided to actually give James a trial for what he did to you," Astrid said. "And what he made you do. Clearly it was not on the up-and-up. I've called for back up and they should be here in a few minutes."

"James is going away?" Lenora asked. "Like, forever?"

Astrid shook her head. "Not forever, but for awhile, anyway. And you don't want to be here by yourself, do you?"

"I won't be here by myself," Lenora told her. "Luke is here. He and Max will keep me company."

Astrid looked worried. "Are you certain?" She asked. "I don't know if I'm comfortable with that."

"I'll be all right, Grandma Astrid," Lenora assured her. "You saw what I did to James, right?"

"Please say you're all right with Lucy and me staying here, at least," Damon told her. "Cause I don't think your aunt will let you out of her sight. She's been panicking ever since she discovered you're not a virgin anymore, you naughty girl."

"And _that_," Astrid said, "is _another_ thing we'll be discussing later. Sometimes, I just wish I could smack sense into both your parents and get them back here to watch you." Sighing, she straightened her back and walked out, she and her troop of men leading a handcuffed James away.

"Don't worry!" Luke called after him. "I'll be sure to watch Lenora while you're gone. I'll take good care of her."

James struggled and tried to get away, but the officers held him fast and Luke smirked as he watched his rival be led away.

* * *

"Mommy!" Felicity cried as she opened the front door and threw herself at Selina. "You came back! Why did you go?"

"It's a little complicated, sweetie," she said. "Now, your daddy said he needed to talk to me. Where is he?"

"I'll go get him," Felicity said. She ran off and came back a few minutes later, dragging Klaus behind her.

"Hello," he said when he saw Selina. "Since you're here, I assume you got my message."

"Yeah," Selina nodded. "What's this big thing you had to tell me?"

"Well," Klaus sighed, "It's something that might make you a little upset, but will also make you very happy."

"Interesting," Selina replied. "Keep talking."

"Well, remember how you told me before we got married that I needed to go declare my brother dead since he wasn't physically capable of signing divorce papers?"

"Yeah," Selina nodded. "What about it?"

"Well," Klaus continued, avoiding her gaze now, "I kind of didn't file any divorce papers. I thought it would be simpler just to compel whomever we needed to instead."

"What?!" Selina stood up, knocking a cup of punch off the arm of the sofa, then paying no mind as it stained the floor. "You mean you and I aren't legally married? I'm still married to Elijah? I have to go tell him!"

"I'll do that," Klaus told her. "It was my mistake, and besides, he'll probably take it better coming from me anyway."

"Yeah," Felicity said. "And you can tell me why you left. Is it because you don't love me anymore?"

"No," Klaus told her. "It's because she doesn't love _me_ anymore."

"It's a complicated grown-up thing, but I promise, I will _always_ love you no matter where I am," Selina said, hugging Felicity. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

"All right," Felicity nodded. "As long as you promise to come visit sometimes, all right."

* * *

"I don't understand why you can't think of anything better to do with yourself than think about Helene all day," Elijah scolded his nephew. "She's clearly moved on. "Why can't you?"

It's a matter of principle!" Adrian told him. "She's_ my _wife and she shouldn't be traipsing around town with another man."

"Although I'm sure it was perfectly all right in your mind for you to be around all those topless girls," Elijah replied dryly.

"Of course it was," Adrian nodded. "I have needs."

Elijah rolled his eyes and Adrian let himself grin at his uncle's expense. "Let me guess," he said. "I'm starting to sound like my mother again."

"Actually, your mother has, in a way, matured," Elijah told him. "Once I get reassurance that she will never, _ever_ go near your father again and he her, I will consider being with her again."

"How nice for you to realize that," Adrian replied.

"Surely you have the same sort of thoughts about Helene," Elijah told him. "And it's your own stubbornness that's standing in the way."

"Don't act like this is my fault!" Adrian replied angrily. "It's _her_ fault. She's the one who drove me away in the first place!"

Elijah rubbed his temples. This conversation was starting to make his head hurt. Just then, his phone rang. "Hello," he replied. "Who's calling?"

"Elijah, it's me," Klaus replied. "I have something that I need to speak to you about. It's something you'll want to hear. Can you meet me in the park by your house in a few minutes?"

Elijah looked at Adrian, and then said with some reluctance, "All right. I'll be there in a little while. But this better not take long, Niklaus. I'm presently doing something that requires most, if not all, of my concentration." He hung up and Adrian grinned. "Was that my dad? Why didn't you let me talk to him?"

"He wasn't calling to chat," Elijah answered, his tone short. "I have to go talk to your father about something. I won't take very long. Will you be able to behave yourself?"

"Yeah," Adrian nodded. "Sure, whatever."

Elijah turned away and strode off, wondering if he really _was_ doing the right thing by leaving. He hoped so.

* * *

"What is it you wanted to speak to me about, Niklaus?" Elijah asked when he and Klaus met in the park. "It better be important. Otherwise, I'll be going on my way. I don't like leaving that unpredictable son of yours alone for too long. Who knows what he might do?"

"It _is_ important," Klaus told him. It's something you'll want to hear."

"Yes?" Elijah asked sharply, crossing his arms. "What is it?"

"Apparently, Selina and I were never actually married," he said. "So that means she's still married to you."

"Really?" Elijah asked, doing his best not to let too much emotion show. "Are you lying to me, Niklaus?"

"What reason would I have to lie to you, Elijah?" Klaus asked. "I am telling you that a woman I love loves you more than she loves me."

"She _does_?" Elijah asked.

Klaus nodded. "Elijah, when she found out that you were going to leave, it made her so upset she ran out into the street and got in an accident that made her miscarry my child! If that's not love in its own strange way, what is?"

"And you won't try and lure her away from me again?" Elijah asked.

"No," Klaus shook his head. "I won't. I promise. And _she_ won't try and come after me again either."

Elijah sighed. "Well, then, I only have one option: to go home to my wife. Good evening, brother. And thank you."

* * *

He walked home and when he rang the doorbell and Selina answered it, he swept her into his arms, eagerly kissing her neck.

"Wait a minute!" Selina cried, when he paused to take a breath. "What's all this for?"

"Niklaus told me you and I are still married," he said with a grin as he carried her off to bed. "And I intend to take that for all it's worth." He kissed her deeply, his hands roaming all over her body. "Now, no more talking, please."

Selina began breathing heavily. "Yes," she said. "Oh, yes."

"That kind of talk can be allowed, I suppose," Elijah conceded as he undressed her and then undressed himself. They rolled around on the bed for a bit and then when he pushed into her for the first time in awhile, Selina struggled not to scream with all her might. It felt so wonderful! When they were both done, she stayed clutching him tightly.

"I'm never gonna let you go again," she said. "If this has taught me anything, it's that my life would be so empty without you in it. Without your strength, without your love, without your support..." Her voice broke and she started to cry. "I'm sorry," she said. "It's just that all the time you were gone, it was so hard being by myself. And it might seem kind of hollow because of what went on between me and Klaus, but I just, I'm no good at being by myself and fighting through life on my own, and that's what it was like without you. And I don't want to go through that again. I really don't."

He kissed her hair. "I won't leave you," he said. "Ever. I promise. I love you too much to do that."

* * *

Despite his promise to his uncle to behave, when Elijah didn't come back, Adrian began to get restless. And hungry. He left his house and began walking around in search of someone to eat. Finally, he saw a young woman walking alone. He began stalking her, and then finally tackled her to the ground, biting her neck deep. As her blood flowed into his mouth and his hunger was sated, he slowly felt himself relax, and he came back to himself enough to bring the woman under a streetlamp, so he could see her face. And when he saw it, he gasped.

"Hello, Adrian," she said weakly.

"Oh, my god," Adrian said. "Helene, I'm so _sorry_!" He gave her some of his blood to heal her up, then carried her back home, tucked her into bed, and watched her for the rest of the night.


	20. Prisoners

Selina rolled over in bed the next morning and found herself gazing at Elijah's smiling face. "Good morning," she said.

"Good morning," he replied and kissed her forehead. She groaned and turned over on her back. "I'm so happy we like each other again. How do you think it will affect Katherine? Do you want me to go break the news to her?"

"I don't know if that's the best idea," Elijah replied. "Will you be able to handle it in a mature manner?"

"I'll try," Selina nodded. "I promise I'll let her down gently. Or you can do it and then I will be free to mock as I will."

"There will be no mocking," Elijah told her. "This was an awkward situation for everyone and I want to end it as kindly as I possibly can."

"So I don't get to mock?" Selina asked, pouting. "But that's not fair! I've waited my whole existence to throw something like that in her face." She grinned as Elijah began rubbing his temples. "Am I aggravating you? I'm sorry. I just...she is literally the worst thing to ever happen to me."

"Or one of the best," Elijah suggested. "Think about all you've gotten to experience because of what she did, and what you would have been doomed to if she would have just let you live out a normal human life."

Selina sighed. "Well, this_ is _better than my crappy childhood, and it's the only way I would have met you, so..."

"There you go," Elijah told her. No need for revenge or dragging this out or anything silly like that. Let's just lay here for a bit and relax and not think about things that are distressing." Selina put her head on his chest and he began idly stroking her hair. "This is nice," she said. "I like this. And now, the kids are old enough that it's actually an option. I can't imagine having any more for awhile. It's been a nice break for both of us, don't you think?"

Elijah nodded. "I suppose," he told her. "But I wouldn't say 'no' to having more children either."

"Of course you wouldn't," Selina replied. "I'm not saying we'll never have another one. I just...I want to wait a bit now that we've gotten back together so that we have time to be together again before all our lives are consumed by raising babies. Can we both agree on that at least?"

"Yes," Elijah nodded. "I suppose we can."

Selina grinned. "Good. Let's stay here a little longer and than drag ourselves out of bed and start the day. What do you say?"

"All right," Elijah replied, taking her in his arms and kissing her again. "Sounds good to me."

Once Selina was dressed, she grabbed her purse and prepared to leave the house. "Going to mock Katerina, are we?" Elijah asked dryly.

"No," Selina shook her head. "I decided to take the more mature route. I asked her to meet me at the bakery to talk, that's all."

"Do you promise?" Elijah asked. "I know impulse control is not one of your best things."

"This time, I will make a concerted effort to be kind and compassionate," Selina told him. "I swear. You gonna tell your father that we're staying together?"

"I better," Elijah nodded. "He was so happy with me when I told him I was considering filing divorce papers that it's gonna be hard to tell him otherwise. But I know I have to do it."

"Good luck," Selina replied, hugging him hard. "Just remember that you're one of the few people on this planet that your father actually respects and even though he's already as good as killed you for being with me once, I bet if you're calm and rational and explain to him that you love me and that's that, he'lll understand."

"Or, as is usual with my parents," Elijah countered. "I'll just tell him you're pregnant. That always gets a good reaction."

Selina sighed. "That might get you in trouble a few months from now when he'll wonder why I'm not showing, but I guess for now, it's all right. Good luck, sweetie."

"You too," Elijah replied, hugging her. "And remember, be kind."

* * *

"So what did you want to talk about?" Katherine asked when she met Selina outside of the bakery.

"I just wanted to tell you that Elijah and I are back together now," Selina replied. "So whatever arrangement you and Elijah had while he and I were separated, that's done."

Katherine grinned and gave a short laugh. "You seem very defensive," she remarked. "Are you telling me this because deep down you're worried that you'll never be enough for him and that there's still a part of him that likes me?"

"Oh, get over yourself," Selina shook her head. "I do _not_ think that."

"Yes, you do," Katherine nodded. "Otherwise, you wouldn't have called me here just to throw your supposed 'secure relationship' in my face. You're afraid I'm gonna try and steal Elijah back. Admit it."

Selina cleared her throat. "Well, I don't know _why_ I would think that. It's not like you lured away my first fiance while I was pregnant with our first child and manipulated him so I didn't see him again forever. Oh, wait. You _did_ do that!"

"And the best you can do to try and shame me is come up with a sob story about being pregnant?" Katherine asked, a grin dancing on her lips. "I really thought you could do better."

"It's not a sob story," Selina told her. "I'm not making it up." She removed her wallet from her purse and showed Katherine the bottom picture in the ever expanding line of photos of her children. "See that one?" She asked, indicating the picture. "Does he remind you of anyone?"

Katherine took the wallet and studied the photo. "Who is he?" She asked.

Selina sighed. "His name was Joshua," she told her. "He was Damon's and my first child. I was pregnant with him when you made Emily Bennett sicken me with scarlet fever, and if it hadn't been for Doctor Stensrund, I would have lost him. Of course, I lost him later when you manipulated the good doctor into turning me into a vampire, but that's a whole other story."

"Wait," Katherine interrupted before Selina could continue talking. "You were pregnant around the time Doctor Stensrund turned you?"

"Actually," Selina corrected, "by the time he turned me, I'd already had Joshua for a month or so. That's why he had to be taken away to live with Damon and Stefan's father. I didn't see him again until he was eighteen."

"I had a daughter that got taken away from me," Katherine replied. "It was horrible. I'm sorry you had to go through that too."

Selina sighed. "Well, I suppose that even if I _was_ collateral damage, you did what you had to do to survive, right? I can respect that, I suppose."

"Did you come by yourself?" Katherine asked. "Or did you bring Gregory with you?"

"Why would I bring Gregory with me?" Selina asked.

Katherine shrugged. "I don't know. He's a handsome boy, just like his father. And I think he's taken a liking to me. Him and your other boy."

"And don't you go encouraging them," Selina warned her, her eyes narrowed. "You fuck up my boys' lives like you fucked up Damon and Stefan's and Elijah and Klaus' and you will have a slow and painful death come to you, I promise you that."

"Oh, we'll see about that," Katherine told her. "You consider yourself to be a devoted mother, right? Well, I doubt you'd risk doing something that would upset your son just to fulfill a revenge fantasy of your own."

"I might!" Selina nodded. "Especially where you're concerned! Because Gregory has no idea of the sort of emotional pain you're more than capable of causing him and I would gladly make him hurt a little now by killing you then watch him hurt much more later after you've broken his heart into a million pieces and then moved on to do it again to someone else!"

* * *

"Gregory?" Selina asked later that day. "Can we talk?"

"Sure," Gregory nodded, putting down his book. "What about?"

"It's about Katherine," Selina told him. "You remember her. Your daddy's friend from when he and I were separated?"

"Mom, you don't need to talk to me like I'm...like I'm _Laura_," He informed her. "Yes, I remember who Katherine is."

"Do you like her?" Selina asked.

"She's pretty," Gregory answered, a slight blush coloring his cheeks. "But since she's pretty and older, she wouldn't like me."

"So she'll just be the girl you like from afar, right?" Selina asked, feeling somewhat relieved. "And later, you'll go out and find a nice girl your own age to be with?"

"I guess," Gregory nodded. "Why?"

Selina shrugged. "Nothing you need to worry about since you're not gonna be with her anyway. And can I say that you've made a very good decision?"

"Okay," Gregory nodded. "But _why_?"

"Ask your father," Selina told him. "He can explain it better than I can."

Gregory decided to ask his father about Katherine when Elijah came to tell him goodnight.

"How come Mom got so happy when I told her that I didn't like Katherine?" He asked. "She said you could explain it to me."

Elijah cleared his throat. "Well, it has something to do with both her own past and my past," he said. "See, I cared about Katerina many years ago, but she was more interested in your Uncle Niklaus, even though all _he_ needed her for was a spell that would allow him to become a werewolf as well as a vampire. In the end, I let my feelings for her get in the way of my relationship with your uncle and we both ended up miserable. The same thing happened with your mother's childhood friend and _his_ brother many years later, so I guess the reason why your mother was so relieved was that she was happy you wouldn't ruin your relationship with Gregory over a girl like Katerina."

"But I wouldn't," Gregory replied. "Cause Colin's even younger then me so there's a slimmer chance that she even noticed him. She just noticed _me_!"

Elijah ruffled Gregory's hair. "So you _do_ like Katerina?"

"Yes," Gregory nodded. "I only told Mom I didn't so she wouldn't worry."

"In any case," Elijah told him, "spend your time now on your studies and your friends. There'll be time for girls when you're older."

Gregory nodded. "I know, Daddy," he said. "I know."

After he left and went back to his bedroom, the first thing that happened when Elijah opened the bedroom door was that Selina threw her arms around him and began kissing him.

"Wait a minute," Elijah told her, holding her at arms' length. "We have to talk first."

"Why talk when we can kiss?" Selina asked.

"Because I'm concerned about Gregory," Elijah told her. "You do realize he's in love with Katerina, right?"

"He said he wasn't!" Selina replied.

"He said that because he knew you'd be upset if he told you the truth," Elijah told her. "What is so wrong with him having a crush on Katerina?"

"There are so many things wrong!" Selina yelled. "If he falls in love with her, his entire life will be ruined!"

"Aren't you being a little over-dramatic, dear?" Elijah asked, a small grin curving his lips. "I'm sure that, on the off chance they fall in love with each other several years from now, it won't end up as bad as you think."

"Yes, it will!" Selina said insistently. "Katherine hoodwinked _you_, even, Elijah! And if she can pull the wool over your eyes, imagine what she'll do to poor Gregory!"

"Give him some credit, will you?" Elijah told her. "You're beginning to sound like my father talking about you, and don't you think things would be a lot easier if Father put his prejudices about you aside and gave you a chance? Be a good example and do it for Katerina if the occasion arises."

Selina sighed, feeling deflated. "I never get to fight things out, do I?"

"Well," Elijah grinned, picking her up and taking her to the bed. "You're a much better lover than you are a fighter. Or at least that's how I prefer you anyway." Then he kissed her, and they made love so long that Selina fell asleep forgetting about Katherine completely.

* * *

After a week or so of being without James, Lenora realized that she was bored. She missed him and wanted him to come back. She picked up the phone and dialed her grandmother's number.

"Yes?" Astrid asked. "Max, is that you?"

"No," Lenora told her. "It's me. Can we talk?"

"About what?" Astrid asked tiredly. "You always want to talk about the same thing."

"Well, that's because you never give me a good enough answer," Lenora replied. "Will you let James go or not? The whole reason why you took him was because I was upset and now I'm not, so let him go."

"Lenora, it's not that simple." Astrid was trying to be patient, but she wasn't sure how to explain things to her uppity granddaughter. "I can't just let James out. Contrary to what you might believe, I didn't take him solely because you were upset, although that *was* a small part of it. By tricking you into making that deal and then tricking you again to make you break it, he broke the rules and has to be punished. So I'm sorry, dear, but you won't be seeing him for a long time!"

"Can I_ talk _to him at least?" Lenora begged. "Just for a little while?"

"What is wrong with you?" Astrid asked. "Is this some sort of weird Stockholm Syndrome? What has he done to you?"

"He hasn't done _anything _to me!" Lenora yelled. "I just want to talk to him and that's all."

"Fine," Astrid sighed. "But just for a little while." She got off the phone and a few minutes later, Lenora heard James' voice. "Hello? Lenora?"

"Yeah," Lenora said. "It's me. Are you okay? They're treating you all right?"

"I can't say it's pleasant here," James replied. "But at least they're giving me the bare minimum of care."

"I'm sorry," Lenora told him. "If I'd known that they were gonna take you away, I wouldn't have caused such a fuss. I'm gonna come and get you out of there, I promise."

"Why would you do that for me?" James asked, sounding genuinely perplexed.

"Because," Lenora told him, "It's boring at home without you and I want you to come back."

"Don't let Granny know," James warned her. "You know she'll try and stop you."

"Do you honestly think _anyone_ is capable of stopping me when I want something?" Lenora asked. "I'll see you tonight."

"Wait a minute!" James cried before she hung up. "Do you even know how to get to me?"

"I can just zap myself away once I leave the castle, can't I?" Lenora asked. "Yeah, I can. See ya!"

She hung up and began gathering up items to put in a bag to take to James. "Where you going?" Luke asked.

"Just out," Lenora replied. "It's none of your business."

"I heard you talking to James on the phone," Luke told her. "You looking for a way out of here?"

"Yeah," Lenora nodded. "But I figured it out. I don't need help from anyone."

"All right," Luke nodded. "Good luck. See you when you get back."

"Don't you have something to do with yourself?" Lenora asked, eyes narrowed. "Or is your sole purpose to be lazy and cause trouble?"

"I'll go!" Luke replied, backing up. "Gee, you'd think after a week, we'd be friends."

Lenora scoffed. "Goodbye, Luke!"

He left and Lenora thought everything would be smooth sailing until just as she was about to leave the castle, she felt a hand clamp down on her arm in the darkness and she let out a shriek. She turned around and saw Lucy, her face lit by a candle.

"Are you leaving?" She asked.

"Well, yeah," Lenora nodded. "I have to go save James. He didn't deserve to be put in jail because of me. I know you don't like him, but since you were able to give Damon a chance, why can't you do the same for James? He's really no different than Damon."

Lucy sighed. "All right," she said. "I'll stop worrying about it and let you live your life as you see fit, but let me just say, I don't like the look of him."

"Well, then it's good he's not the guy you're dating," Lenora told her. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a man to rescue."

* * *

"Tough day?" The jailer asked James with a grating laugh. "Are you tired? Can I get you a pillow to rest your precious head on?"

"What you can do, you stupid bastard, is go away and leave me with my solitude." James told him.

"You're no fun," The jailer replied. "I guess I'll have to go bother another prisoner."

"Exactly," James nodded. "You do that." He lay back on the bench in his cell and stared up at the ceiling. There was a hole in it that would sent water down to slowly soak him, should it rain, but James didn't care. Lenora had told him that she would come to his rescue. It was a stunning offer from a girl who had so recently torn apart his kitchen and broken every valuable he had after she'd found out that she'd come to him under false pretenses. Things must be _really_ bad at home if it made her desperate enough to come rescue him.

He stared up at the hole, marveling at the silence around him until he heard a crash, a bang, some curses and the sound of footsteps coming toward his cell.

"James!" Lenora called. "James, I'm here! oof!" She fell on the floor as James watched her smaller figure being overtaken by the larger one of the jailer. A few seconds later, he got off her and picked her up, laughing. "Well, what do we have here?" He asked. "Somebody doing a clumsy job of engineering an escape?"

Lenora tried to punch him, but every time she struck out, she hit empty air, which just made the jailer laugh harder.

"Put her down, you idiot!" James called tiredly. "That's a council member's granddaughter you're handling. When she comes tomorrow on rounds, I'd be glad to tell her about it."

Hearing those words, the jailer threw Lenora in the cell, grabbed the key, and ran off. James watched him go and then turned to Lenora, who was lying in a crumpled, shivering heap in the opposite corner of the cell. He approached her and she started.

"It's all right," he said. "It's just me. I won't hurt you. Are you all right?"

Lenora stared up at him. In the dim light of the cell block, he saw that she was dirty and covered in bruises. She coughed and then said, "I came to rescue you, just like I said I would."

James couldn't help but smile a little. "You're a foolish girl," he said, taking her in his arms. "A brave, foolish girl. You didn't have to do this for me. Things must be awful at home for you to do something so foolhardy."

"I thought it would be a lot easier than it was," Lenora admitted. "But it was still worth it. I miss you." She kissed him.

James felt a strange warmth course through him. "I would have gotten out soon without your help," he said. "No four walls, even prison walls, can hold me."

He kissed her again and then laid her on the jail bench. She was breathing hard. "Are you sure you can do this in the dark?" She asked. "Please tell me you can."

He grinned, his teeth glinting in the light. "My darling Lenora, there's _nothing_ I can't do." He then undressed her, and himself, their clothes thrown aimlessly around the cell. He sucked on her breasts and kissed down her stomach, and as he put his tongue inside her, she bucked forward and they fell off the bench onto the cell floor. But it didn't faze them. They continued to make love wildly on the cell floor, pausing for the barest second when the first few drops of cool rain fell on them, and then continuing. Then they changed positions so Lenora was on top and as she leisurely licked his manhood, she said, "Do you feel rescued."

"Oh, yes," he nodded. "oh, yes."


	21. A Fight For Freedom

James and Lenora were awakened the next morning by a sharp shriek. "What?" Lenora asked, sitting up and yawning. "What happened?"

The jailer grinned over Astrid's shoulder. "You have a visitor."

Lenora blinked. "Good morning, Grandma," she said. "How are you?"

"How am I?" Astrid asked. "_How am I_? Lenora, put your clothes on and get out of there this instant!"

Lenora looked down at herself. She realized that she wasn't wearing anything and stood up from the floor of the cell, dressing and throwing James' clothes at him. "Wake up!" She said. "My grandmother is here!"

James groaned and sat up. "Good morning," he said to Astrid. "How are you?"

"A lot worse than I was before I came here!" Astrid snapped, then she turned back to Lenora. "What are you doing like that here with him?"

"I came to rescue him," Lenora told her. "He doesn't deserve to be here and no one else cared!"

"Now I'd be willing to put him anywhere he's away from you!" Astrid snapped. "Come on, you're coming home with me. This is the _last_ place you should be."

Lenora rolled her eyes. "Really, Grandma? Are you seriously gonna be like this?"

"Yes!" Astrid nodded. "Now come along! I'm going to take you home so you can be with your family. That's where you belong." She cast James a dirty look. "Not with riffraff like him!" James heard that and after he finished zipping up his pants, he threw himself against the bars. "You don't know how wrong you are about Lenora and me," he said. "And I wouldn't expect you to. But I'll get her back, no matter what you do. She belongs with me and nobody else."

* * *

"There you are!" Helene cried, running out to hug Lenora as she and Astrid got out of their car.

"Mom?" Lenora asked in surprise. "What are _you_ doing here? I thought you'd been sent away."

"I got let out," Helene replied. "I'm powerless now, but otherwise all right. What have you done to get your grandmother so worked up?"

"She's allowed James Black to take advantage of her," Astrid said.

"Well, if I _allowed_ him to do it, then he's _not_ taking advantage," Lenora pointed out. "I don't mind what we're doing, so I don't know why you're in such a snit about it."

"You're sixteen!" Astrid told her as she, Lenora and Helene went inside. "_Much_ too young to let anyone do that to you, much less a cad like James Black."

"I was her age the first time I let Adrian do me," Helene said.

"Exactly!" Astrid cried triumphantly. "And look at the two of you now!"

Lenora grimaced. "I appreciate that you're trying to help me, Mom, but I could have gone my whole life without knowing how old you were when you and Dad had sex for the first time."

Helene ignored this remark. "Mother, I think you're making a lot of fuss when it's not necessary."

"I believe Adrian won't think I'm overreacting when I tell him," Astrid threatened.

"Go ahead and tell Dad!" Lenora said. "It doesn't really matter what he thinks anyway. Where was he all my life?"

"Exactly!" Helene agreed. "I'm really the only one who has the right to give an opinion on this and I don't have a problem with it."

"You will a few months from now, I have a feeling," Astrid said dryly. "Just you wait."

* * *

Lenora finished throwing up in the bathroom and then came out to where Astrid was standing with her arms crossed. "How are you feeling?" She asked tiredly.

"A little better," Lenora admitted. "Will you take me back home now? I want to see James. I'd be sick either place and I'd rather be sick there."

"No," Astrid shook her head. "That won't happen. You're going to stay here."

"Why?" Lenora asked. "What is wrong with you? Why can't you just let me go home?"

"Your home is here, Lenora!" Astrid snapped, her eyes flashing. "Not in some hovel with a man who has no heart. Especially not in your condition!"

"My condition?" Lenora asked, looking confused. Then, it dawned on her. "I'm not just sick, am I?" She asked. "Not for two months straight."

"No," Astrid shook her head. "You aren't. But why are you acting like this is a big surprise for you? After all that time you spent with James, you_ had _to realize that pregnancy was a possibility!"

"Well, I'm sorry that I can't think of everything, Grandma!" Lenora yelled. "I'm sorry I'm a big fat failure who loves the wrong people and doesn't do exactly what you say! I know that must be hard to deal with."

"Fortunately for you," Astrid replied, lips pursed, "This situation will be easy to fix. You will stay here with us until the baby is born, you will put it up for adoption, and then you will get on with your life. And you will _never_ see James Black again, do you understand me?"

"No," Lenora shook her head. "I don't. You know why? You go on and on about what a bad guy he is, when really, the only reason why he _is _that way is because you make him! Sure he and I had a rocky start, but things are getting better! I care about him and I believe he cares about me. And here's the amazing bit: It's making him nicer! If you want him to keep being some jerk whose sole purpose is to be miserable and torture people, fine, don't send me back! But all you're doing is ensuring that a nice man will stay miserable for the rest of eternity when really, he's been through enough! I'm gonna be with him if it's the last thing I do and I don't give a damn what you have to say about it!" She ran off leaving Helene and Astrid to stare at each other in stunned silence.

* * *

"So did you tell your father?" Selina asked. "What did he say?"

"Well, as suspected, he wasn't too happy about it," Elijah sighed. "But what's done is done and it's none of his affair anyway, really."

"Did you do the pregnancy line?" Selina asked.

"Yes," Elijah nodded. "I did. That cheered him up a bit."

"Let me guess," Selina grinned. "He's hoping I'll have a strong, healthy boy."

"What else would he hope for?" Elijah took her in his arms. "It'll be all right," he said. "We can get through this charade."

"So, what first?" Selina asked. "Start trying to get me pregnant? Personally, I would prefer to wait a little longer, but if your father is in some sort of hurry-"

"There's something I feel we should do even before that," Elijah told her.

"Yeah, getting naked would probably help, wouldn't it?" Selina asked.

"Well, yes," Elijah nodded. "But that's not what I meant. I think we should renew our vows. Just as a way of solidifying this fresh start of ours."

"Yeah!" Selina grinned. "We could get matching suits for Gregory and Colin and they could be your best men and Laura could be the flower girl, and..."

"I don't want to have the children involved," Elijah shook his head. "I just want this to be you and me, alone. You don't have a problem with that, do you?"

"No," Selina shook her head. "Of course not. I_ like _it! When do we leave?"

"I see no reason why we can't leave as soon as possible," Elijah told her. "Why don't you throw some things in a bag and we'll get on our way?"

"Wait a minute," Selina told him. "There's one thing I have to do before we go."

* * *

"Mommy!" Felicity cried when she opened the door. "You're visiting just like you said you would!"

"Of course," Selina said, picking her up. "I hope you don't think I would lie about that."

"No," Felicity shook her head. "I don't."

"You probably don't miss me too much, though," Selina grinned. "You probably have too much fun with your daddy and Uncle Stefan to miss me."

"I _do_ miss you sometimes," Felicity said. "And Laura, and Colin."

"Well, I'll bring you over to visit when I get back from being gone," Selina promised.

"Where are you going?" Felicity asked.

"Yeas," Klaus added as he came into the room. "Where are you going?"

Selina stood up and took a deep breath. "Elijah and I decided to get re-married," she said. "Once I'm done here, I'm gonna go put some stuff in a bag and then we'll be on our way."

Klaus nodded. "Well," he told her. "I wish you the best of luck."

Selina nodded and reached for his hand. Klaus gave it to her hesitantly and she gave it a firm squeeze. "Thank you," she told him. She gave Felicity one last hug, told her she'd see her when she got back.

* * *

"Did you take care of whatever it was that you needed to?" Elijah asked when she got back.

"Yeah," Selina nodded. "I just needed to make sure that Felicity knew where I was, you know. Even though she's taken Klaus' and my separation surprisingly well, I still don't want to risk her feeling like she's been abandoned."

"Felicity?" Elijah asked. "Which one is she again?"

"Tiny blonde," Selina said. "You probably mistook her for a kid of Klaus' and mine when you first saw her."

"Oh!" Elijah's eyes widened. "Her! Yes, I remember who you're talking about now. Adrian and Helene's little girl, I think Laura said?"

"Yeah," Selina nodded. "But because Helene and Adrian are having problems, Klaus and I are trying to keep who Felicity's real parents are quiet until she's older and can deal with it herself."

"Speaking of Adrian and Helene, I believe things have improved between them," Elijah told her. "At least they're talking now."

"Are they?" Selina asked, feeling amazed. "Well, that's a _huge_ step forward."

Elijah nodded. "It _is_, isn't?" He spanked her lightly. "Get packed now," he said. "We don't want to waste any more time!"

Selina grinned. "Yes, sir," she said.

Not long after, they were on a plane headed for one of the many properties that Elijah's family had around the country.

"You really aren't gonna tell me anything about this place?" Selina asked. "Not even just a little thing?"

"No," Elijah shook his head. "Not even a little thing."

Selina sat back in her chair and looked out the window.

Elijah watched as she tightly gripped the armrest. "Why are you sitting there?" He asked her. "I thought you hated heights."

"I do," Selina replied. "But I'm working on conquering my fears, because I am a _ vampire_, for god's sake and should not be afraid of a silly thing like high places."

Elijah smiled and came to sit next to her. She pulled up the arm rest so that she could scoot closer to he could take her in his arms. "It's going to be all right, you know." He told her. "Nothing bad will happen to you."

"Yeah," Selina nodded, snuggling against him. "I know."

Finally, they reached the house. "Wow," Selina gasped, looking up at the three story brick building that was peppered with windows. "That's all I have to say. Wow."

Elijah took her hand. "Just wait until you see the _inside_." He led her toward the door, but she paused. "What about the bags?" She asked. "Don't forget those!"

"I'm not," Elijah assured her. "Don't worry. They'll get brought in." He got her to keep going toward the front door, and when they reached it, it opened, revealing a tall man with dark hair that seemed molded to his head, and a severe look.

"Frederick," Elijah said to him. "Hello."

Frederick inclined his head. "Hello, sir," he said, and when he noticed Selina, "Madame. Shall I get someone to bring in your bags?"

"Yes," Elijah nodded. "Thank you. That would be nice." He pulled Selina inside and saw her look of dismay. "What?" He asked. "What's the matter?"

"You didn't tell me we would have servants here!" She whispered. "Why didn't you?"

"I didn't think you would mind," Elijah replied, feeling flustered. "What's wrong with that?"

Selina sighed. "I had people serve me my whole human life and it wasn't by choice. I hated being the lazy little rich girl while everyone around me worked so hard and got nothing at all for it. That's why I do everything myself."

"Well, darling," Elijah told her, "when you were growing up, that was slavery. Everyone that works for us here is being compensated very well for their work. I promise."

"Really?" Selina asked.

Elijah nodded. "Really. So why don't you go into the living room and sit down on the sofa, and I'll see about getting you something to eat."

"Okay," Selina nodded. "I think I can do that." Elijah watched her as she walked to a sofa and hesitantly sat down on the edge, looking like a deer ready to bolt.

"You're not relaxing," Elijah told her. "And that's what this whole trip is for."

"Can't you tell everyone that they get time off or something?" Selina asked. "I'll still be able to enjoy myself even if_ I _do the cooking and the cleaning. I swear!"

"No!" Elijah told her severely, shaking his head. "I won't have you doing that. Not while we're on vacation."

"Fine," Selina sighed. "I'll let people do stuff for me."

"It's not as bad as you think it will be," Elijah told her. "I promise."

* * *

But that night as they were walking down to dinner, Elijah noticed that Selina still seemed tense. "What's wrong now?" He whispered.

"Nothing," Selina said quickly. "Nothing is wrong. Let's just get through dinner and then we can have a good time tonight."

They sat down in the dining room and as the chef and Frederick came out with their soup, Elijah noticed that both men were giving Selina dirty looks. Finally, the chef said, "Sir, I'm giving my two weeks' notice. I cannot work in conditions like this. If your wife insists on doing all the work, let her. I'm too much of an artiste to have my meals ruined by amateurs." Then he sniffed, turned around, and strode out. Elijah frowned while Selina slid lower and lower down her chair. "What are you doing?" Elijah asked sweetly.

"I'm trying not to look at your scary face," Selina told him. "You're mad. I know it."

Elijah got up and came to stare down at her. "Why would I be mad? Just because you've alienated one of the best cooks in the country after I _specifically_ told you to relax and leave everything be!"

"But I meant well!" Selina cried. "I wasn't trying to get in the way!"

Elijah sat back down, took a deep breath, and ran his fingers through his hair. "We'll talk about this later. Now let's just eat before the soup gets cold."

"I don't know if we should," Selina said. "What if they spat in it or something?"

"You'll eat it anyway," Elijah told her. "Because if they spat in it, you were the cause! I just don't understand why relaxing is such a hard concept for you! Most normal people would trip over themselves to live in a place where they didn't have to lift a finger to get things done!"

Selina carefully got some soup on her spoon and tasted it. It seemed all right. "I've done the whole luxury living bit," she told him. "In Civil-War-era Mystic Falls, when I was human. I didn't care for it much."

Elijah shut his eyes. "But like I told you before, this isn't the same situation as when you were growing up! We're_ paying_ well-regarded, talented people who _like_ what they do to come and work for us! When you interfere, like I presume you've done, you're not being helpful, you're being insulting."

"I don't mean to be insulting at all, I just..." she sighed. "I've really screwed things up, haven't I? Do you think that if I went and apologized and explained why I did what I did, things will be okay again?"

Elijah shrugged. "I don't know. But it definitely wouldn't hurt to give it a try."

* * *

Thankfully, Selina was able to convince the chef to stay and that night, as she and Elijah lay in bed, she sighed. "I know I'm really bad at being a lady of leisure," she told him. "And I realize that us living like this is much different from the circumstances I grew up in, but the way I grew up, being served by people who were forced to work for us against their will and for no compensation whatsoever, people who were treated more like property than human beings...it really sticks with you, you know? Doing things on my own is my small way of making up for all my years of forced laziness. It's not just me being difficult."

"I know that," Elijah told her. "But like I said, you won't insult anyone who works here by asking them for things. It's what we pay them for. It's not an insult or anything. Just try it, because if you don't, you'll drive yourself crazy while you're here. And that is _not_ why we came."

Selina grinned. "Remind me again, why _did_ we come?"

Elijah began rubbing her shoulders. "We came so we could _relax_. And there's a nice venue downtown where I'm sure they'd be willing to let us renew our vows."

Selina groaned as he kneaded his hands down her back. "Damn, that feels good!" He kept rubbing and she kept moaning before it finally became too much for him so he flipped her over and kissed her hard. She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him back. When they pulled apart, she grinned. "That was nice."

"Want me to show you something nicer?" He asked.

She grinned, an eyebrow going up. "Yes, please."

He got out of bed and stood at the foot, and while she watched, he slowly unzipped and peeled off his pants with a knowing smirk on his face. By the time he was naked and ready to get back in bed with her, she felt like she was going to explode from need. She pulled him to her and as they kissed, he undressed her. As he stared at her body with a wicked grin, she tried not to feel shy, but he saw her squirm anyway.

"What's the matter?" He asked, running his hand up the inside of her thigh.

"Why do you look at me like that?" She asked. "It's like you want to eat me or something."

"I do," he said, kissing down her thigh. "I want to devor you slowly and savor every inch of your beautiful body."

She squirmed as he slipped his tongue inside of her, letting out an awkward giggle that she hoped wouldn't spoil the mood. Fortunately, Elijah didn't notice, and captured her mouth with his so she couldn't make any more noise. Then he reached down and rubbed her gently before pushing into her. She let out a shriek and clung to him, her nails digging into his back. They rolled around for a bit before he rolled off her. They were both panting heavily and when Selina could finally get breath to speak, she said, "Jeepers, sweetie! I'd forgotten you were such a beast under the suit!"

He smirked. "Well, I'll make sure you never forget again, you can be certain of that."

* * *

The next morning, Selina opened her eyes and sat up, looking at Elijah, who was still asleep beside her. She leaned forward and kissed him softly on the forehead, but he opened his eyes anyway, starting a little.

"Relax," she told him. "It's just me. I only wanted to kiss you. I didn't mean to wake you up."

He grinned and kissed her back. "We're getting married today," he said. "I've told everyone and they promised to have a cake waiting when we got back."

"But we only got here yesterday!" Selina exclaimed. "And you want us to get married again _today_?"

"Yes," Elijah nodded. "Do you have a problem with that?"

"No," Selina shook her head. "It's all right with me. I just thought you were going to, you know, draw out the process and go for something big and grand."

"Well that can still be done," Elijah told her. "Is that what you want?"

"Oh, good _god_ no!" Selina shook her head. "That is the _last_ thing I want!"

"I thought as much," Elijah told her. "Did you bring a nice dress with you?"

"Yeah," Selina nodded. "It was one of the few things I brought." She let out a naughty little giggle. "I can't wait to show you everything else."

That made Elijah jump out of bed. "Get dressed," he said. "I always did like morning weddings."

"Yeah," Selina nodded with a grin. "Right." She got out of bed and dressed with a knowing smile as Elijah watched her and didn't blink once. When they were both dressed, they got in one of the cars and told the driver to take them to the courthouse, where they got hold of a judge and brought him back to the house where they were married in front of the staff. When they kissed, everyone applauded.

"Looks like we're married," Selina said when they pulled apart.

Elijah grinned. "We are indeed. How would you like to join a married man in his bedroom after this?"

Selina grinned. "I would love to. If it's all right with his wife."

* * *

"Mom?" Lenora asked Helene. "Are you as upset as Grandma is about what's happened to me?"

Helene sighed. "No," she said. "It's your life and your decision and if you feel you love James and can deal with a baby at your age, who is anyone else to tell you what to do?"

"Really?" Lenora asked in surprise. "Well, thanks."

Helene shifted on the living room sofa. "I think if your daddy hadn't taken Felicity away, I would feel differently about this, but when you go through pregnancy and you have a child, you get attached to them, you know? Well, I know not everyone does, but it happens to a lot of women, and if you're one of those who gets attached to the idea of having a kid, getting the kid taken away is one of the worst things that can happen, especially if it's not your choice. So I say 'good luck' with the baby and if having a family with James is what will make you happy, then all the more power to you."

Lenora smiled. "Well, thanks! It's nice to know there's at least _one _person in this house who supports me."

But she was still worried about how she'd get back to James. As Lenora lay in bed feeling very forlorn, she sniffled and thought what it would be like to never see him again. It wouldn't be good, that was for sure. She knew she wanted to be with him regardless of what her grandmother thought. She got out of bed, walked to the window, opened it, and called out, "I'm gonna come back for you, James! If cell walls couldn't hold you, the walls of my stupid grandmother's house certainly can't hold me!"

Feeling a slight release of emotion, she shut the window, took a deep breath, strode back to bed and tried to fall asleep. It was a difficult task, however, and finally, she gave up and just went back to looking out the window at the moon. Suddenly, she heard rustling and whispering outside. She stood up and peered out as a dark shape reached the house and began scaling the wall to her window. When it got inside, she felt a hand go over her mouth. "Don't you say anything," James whispered. "We actually want to get away from here and if you talk, it won't help." Lenora nodded and he let her go.

"What are you doing here?" She whispered, feeling stunned.

"I'm rescuing you like you rescued me," James said, his voice curt. "Now, no more questions. We don't have enough time."

"How am I supposed to get down from here?" Lenora asked.

"Climb, of course," James shrugged. "Like I did."

"I don't know if that's a good idea," Lenora told him.

"Why?" James asked. "Are you afraid of heights or something?"

"No," Lenora shook her head. "I'm pregnant and I don't want to risk hurting the baby."


	22. Birthday Girl

James blinked, his jaw hanging open. "Excuse me?" He asked. "You're what?"

"I'm pregnant!" Lenora repeated. "You and I are gonna have a baby!"

"I-I-I I just don't know what to say," James replied.

"Well," Lenora said, "You can think up a snappy response later. I thought this was supposed to be some sort of getaway."

"Right," James cleared his throat. "It is. Can't let myself get distracted." He looked up at her. "What do you think would be the best way to get you out of here?"

"We can use magic," Lenora told him. "It's not like the council building or the jail." She magicked herself out on the front lawn and waited for James to join her. "Are you really pregnant?" He asked her. "This isn't some joke you're playing on me?"

Just then, Lenora doubled over and threw up all over the lawn.

"No," she said, straightening up again. "I'm really pregnant. It's the only way I'd ever be sick."

"You seem very matter of fact about this," James told her, taking her hand. "Aren't you as nervous about this as I am?"

Lenora took a deep breath and nodded. "Yeah," she said. "I'm terrified. But it's not like I have to handle it all by myself, right?"

"That's true," James told her. He was looking pale and nervous now. "Not sure how much help I'll be, but I'll at least try.

They zapped themselves away from the house and back to the castle.

"Lenora!" Max cried when he saw her. "You're back!"

"Yeah," Lenora nodded. "Grandma probably won't be too happy when she finds out that I got away, but this is the place for me. This is my home." She yawned. "I'll just lay down on my usual mat by the fire and go to sleep."

"Oh, I don't _think_ so!" James told her. "You'll come and sleep in my bed and I'll sleep out here. It's the best arrangement, under the circumstances."

Max raised an eyebrow. "What circumstances?"

"You tell him," Lenora told James. "I need to go to the bathroom again." She ran off and Max peered at James. "What's she talking about?"

"Well," James began, feeling uncomfortable and stroking the hair at the nape of his neck. "Well, it seems Lenora is, um...she's-" He took a deep breath and burst out. "She's going to have a child!"

"Is she?" Max asked. "I will assume congratulations are in order for you and her, then."

James scoffed. "Don't be silly, Max! There's nothing to celebrate. It's not like we planned this at all."

"Are you going to keep the child?" Max asked.

James opened his mouth to answer, but Lenora answered first. "Yes," she replied. "We're keeping it."

"Can't we talk about this?" James asked. "Don't I get a say?"

"Well are you gonna say 'no'?" Lenora asked. "Are you just gonna cast the kid aside without thinking what good it could do for you?"

"What are you talking about?" James asked. "You're speaking nonsense. Go to bed!"

"No!" Lenora shook her head. "Not until you admit that us having a baby around here will be good for you. The baby won't give a damn that you killed your wife or that everyone around here with the exception of Max and I are afraid of you. It'll love you because you are its daddy and that's what you need to get better...unless of course you_ want _to stay here in this hellhole and be bitter and angry for the rest of eternity. And even if that's the case, I'm _still_ not getting rid of the baby! Good night, Max. James." She went to grab some blankets from James' bed and bundled herself up on the mattress before shutting her eyes. James looked at her for a long moment before turning to Max. "Did she not hear me say that I wanted her to sleep in my bed?" He asked. "How hard is that for her to understand?"

Max shrugged. "I don't know, sir. Perhaps that's just how she is. But maybe if you waited until she was deeply asleep, you could carry her to your bed and tuck her in without objections."

"Yes," James nodded. He watched Lenora sleep for a bit and after making sure she was soundly asleep, he picked her up, brought her to his bed, tucked her in, and then took her place on the mattress by the fire.

* * *

The next morning, Selina woke up and admired the good-sized diamond ring on her finger. "Thanks for my ring," she told Elijah. "But you really didn't have to get me a new one. I still have the one from when we first got married."

"I think you should have a new ring for a new start," Elijah replied, kissing each of her fingers. "And there is a necklace and earrings that go with it too, if you'd like them to make a set."

Selina eyed the ring. "I don't know," she told him. "It might be a bit much."

"Do you want them?" Elijah asked. "You don't have to be ashamed if you do. I would be more than happy to get them for you. It would be my pleasure."

Selina nodded. "I know it would and I'm so grateful for that, but I just...oh what the hell? It would be good for me to have some nice jewelry. I don't have a lot any more."

Elijah smiled. "Good," he said, moving her hair out of her eyes. "We'll get you those other things today."

"Oh, but you have to think of some way for me to pay you back," Selina told him. "I can't just accept expensive things from you without giving you anything in return. I wouldn't feel right."

He kissed her. "If you still remember how to do those back rubs I like, I will consider us even."

Selina grinned. "All right," she told him. "I suppose I still remember." She got up on her knees and began rubbing his back. "How's this?" She asked. "Have I lost my touch?"

Elijah moaned. "No, my darling," he said, "you certainly haven't. That feels _wonderful_."

"Do you have to go work with your father today?" Selina asked. "Or can you just stay home with me? I'll make it worth your while if you stay."

"Stop just a second now," Elijah told her. She stopped and gave him a look. "Why?" She asked. "Have I done something wrong?"

"No," Elijah shook his head and took her in his arms. "But I'm a little offended that you think you have to bribe me so I'll spend time with you."

"I didn't mean it like that," Selina sighed. "But you know how your father is when it comes to me. Always trying to keep you away with some crazy distraction."

"I'll try and be better about that," Elijah promised. "I promise I'll be here more to help you with things because you need me more than he does."

"I would like to think I do," Selina agreed. "The only reason he wants you around is so he can control you and force his ideals in your head and turn you into a killer. I want you around because I _love_ you."

Elijah paused and put his hand under her chin, bringing her face close to his, close enough that their foreheads were touching. "I love you too, Selina," he told her. "With all my heart."

Selina felt tears beginning to slip from her eyes, but she grabbed him again, holding him against her, facing away from him so he wouldn't see her cry. But he heard anyway.

"You're crying," he told her, making her look at him again.

"Yeah," Selina sniffled. "First you make me want fancy jewelry and then you make me so happy I cry. Elijah Mikaelson, you're ruining me!"

He held her for a little longer and as she wiped her eyes, he caught sight of the time on the alarm clock. "Time to start getting the kids up for school," he told her. "Would you like to do that, or shall I?"

"I will," Selina replied, getting out of bed and putting on a robe. "You can stay here and tell your father you aren't gonna meet him today. I figure you want to be _alone_ when you do that."

"Yes," Elijah nodded. "That would be best. You're very perceptive."

Selina grinned, hugged him one more time, and then left the room to wake up the kids and get them ready for school. When they were on their way, she came back to her and Elijah's room. "So did you talk to your father?" She asked. "How did he take it?"

"How do you _think_ he took it?" Elijah asked dryly. He tied his tie and then went to look at himself in the mirror. "I look all right," he said, then turned to Selina. "Don't I?"

"Oh, of course!" Selina agreed. "Very handsome."

Elijah grinned. "Thank you. So what are _you_ doing today? Do you need to go to the bakery?"

Selina nodded. "Just for a little bit, to check in and see how things are going. See if there are any problems that need fixing."

* * *

But it took much longer than that and when Elijah finally came to pick Selina up, it was nighttime and she was the only one in the shop. He found her wiping off the tables and then lifting the chairs on top of them. "Why are you doing this?" He asked her.

"I have to," she replied. "I'm the only one here."

"You shouldn't have to do this!" He told her. "You're the boss! Doing things like this is what your _employees_ are for! And it's not like you don't do enough without this. You bake everything you sell!"

"It doesn't bother me to clean up at the end of the day," she told him. "It makes me feel like I accomplished something, you know? Like I'm doing everything I can to make this business a success along with the people who work for me. I'd rather be like that then some person who makes all their money from the blood and sweat of their employees and does nothing themselves, even if I _am _the boss."

"Well, even if you _are_ self-sufficient, that doesn't mean you don't deserve a break once in awhile," Elijah told her. "Do you promise me you'll take one at some point?"

Selina sighed, coming to put her arms around his neck. "Sure," she said. "Why not? If you can take a break from saving the world for me, I can take a break from plying the world with baked goods for you."

"Good," Elijah told her. "Now, are you done here?"

"Almost," she replied. "If you'd be willing to help me a little, I'd be done even quicker."

"What do you need me to do?" Elijah asked.

Selina went to the supply closet and brought out two brooms, keeping one for herself and handing him the other one. "Help me sweep up," she said. "It's all I have left to do."

Elijah nodded and together they quickly swept up the bakery, then he picked her up and carried her out to his car. "Thanks," she told him when he buckled her in. "You're so gallant."

He grinned and then got in the driver's seat beside her. They drove home, she said good night to the kids, and then she and Elijah went to bed and made love all night.

* * *

"Daddy!" Felicity cried, jumping up and down on the empty side of Klaus' bed one morning a few weeks later. "Wake up!"

Groggily, Klaus sat up. "What is it, Lissy?" He asked. "I'm not awake yet. Can you do whatever it is yourself?"

"It's my _birthday_!" Lissy cried. "Remember, Daddy?"

"Yes," Klaus nodded. "I remember."

"So when is my party?" She asked.

"You'll have one, but it'll be several hours from now. So how about you let me go back to sleep, all right?"

"I can't sleep!" Lissy told him. "I'm too excited!"

Klaus grinned a little at this. "All right," he told her. "You don't have to go to sleep again. Just go out to the living room, watch some TV, and try not to make a mess out of anything until I get there."

Lissy nodded. "Okay!" She got off the bed and ran out of the room. Klaus sat up, grinned to himself and dressed quickly before going out to join her. "Do you think Mommy will come to my party?" She asked. "Or do you think Mommy will be busy?"

"Oh, she'll come," Klaus promised. "She told me she would. It's Uncle Stefan who will give you his present later."

"Oh," Lissy nodded. "That's good!"

"Now," Klaus told her, "while I'm getting set up for your party and running errands and things you have to promise me you'll be good for your babysitter, all right?"

"Is it Mommy?" Felicity asked. "Or Daddy Alistair? Or Mommy Astrid?"

"Nope," Klaus shook his head. "None of them, although you _will_ see them later today for your party."

"Then who _will_ be watching me?" Felicity asked.

"It's a bit hard to explain who he is to you, but I promise you that he'll take good care of you," Klaus told her. "All right?"

Felicity nodded and went to her room to dress and play with her toys for a bit. While she played, her baby-sitter showed up at the house. She heard him calling out, and since his voice didn't sound familiar, she left her room to investigate.

"Daddy?" She called. "Is that you?" When the strange man saw her, he froze. "Oh!" She said. "Hi! I was looking for my daddy. Have you seen him?"

"Oh, I-I'm sorry," Adrian stuttered, starting a little when he saw her. "I haven't. I think I'm looking for him myself."

"Who are you?" Felicity asked him. "Are you my babysitter?"

Adrian opened his mouth to answer, but before he could, Klaus appeared. "Well, there you are, Adrian. Sorry I didn't hear you come in." He put his arm around Felicity. "Have the two of you been talking?"

"Not much," Adrian told him.

"I have to tell you something really quick before I go," Klaus told his son. "Would you come into my bedroom, please?"

"What is it?" Adrian asked. But Klaus waited until they were safely behind his bedroom door to speak.

"You might think this is a ridiculous request, but Lissy doesn't know who you really are to her and I would appreciate it if you didn't tell her, at least not now." Klaus told him. "Can you do that?"

"Yeah," Adrian nodded. "Of course. Honestly, I think I have a long way to go before I can even _begin_ to really be a father to her." He sighed. "At least I'm on the way. Helene and I are talking now."

"And how is that going?" Klaus asked. "If the two of you come to Lissy's party, will you be able to be civil, or am I going to have to keep you away?"

"No," Adrian shook his head. "We can be civil. It's friendly that I can't guarantee."

"And can you blame her, really?" Klaus asked.

"I know, I did something wrong!" Adrian huffed. "I'm trying my best to make up for my mistakes! Why can't people be encouraging instead of discouraging? How hard would that be?"

"We just want to be sure that you understand the consequences of what you did," Klaus told him. "When you left, that affected more people than just you and Helene. According to Alistair, Lenora's run away from home because she fancies herself in love with a man and is now pregnant with his child. It's brought poor Astrid almost to the end of her patience! And that probably wouldn't have happened if you'd just been around for Lenora."

"Lenora is _what?_' Adrian asked. "Dad, did you just say Lenora is _pregnant_? Because of whom? I'll kill him!"

"I wouldn't advise that," Klaus told him. "If you did, Lenora would probably never forgive you and you'd be in a worse place with her than if you just did nothing. According to Astrid, she believes she loves him."

Adrian huffed. "Fine then," he said. "I'll do nothing. although I really want to. Poor Ladybug."

Klaus couldn't help but smirk. "Everyone else seems to be more upset about her situation than she is."

"I wonder if Helene knows about this?" Adrian asked.

Klaus nodded. "Probably. She was staying with Astrid when Astrid brought Lenora home and they found out about her condition."

"If Helene knew, then why didn't she tell me?!" Adrian cried. "She should have!"

"She probably didn't because she knew that you'd overreact and there's no point in that. It will solve nothing," Klaus told him.

"Yet it felt good when you gave Vince and Damon pieces of your mind for Roxie and Lucy, didn't it?"

"That has nothing to do with your current situation," Klaus told him. "If you want things to get better between you and Helene, you'll have to forgo violent displays of emotion and learn to be more civil."

Adrian rolled his eyes. "You're starting to sound like Uncle Elijah."

"Well, maybe that's good," Klaus told him. "Perhaps, for once in my life, my brother is right about something."

* * *

"Oh, not again!" Lenora cried as she woke up from a nap in James' bed. "James! Come in here!"

"Yes?" James asked. "May I help you?"

"Why do I always wake up in your bed when I nap or sleep in front of the fireplace?"

"Because," James replied, "as I've told you, I don't like the idea of you being pregnant and sleeping in front of a fireplace without a good blanket. This is better for you."

"I thought that since I was your servant, it didn't matter what was good for me or not," Lenora countered.

"Well, given the situation, I'm sure we can relax the rules for awhile," James told her. "I take it you're done sleeping?"

"Well, what time is it?" She asked.

"Almost six in the evening," James told her. "Why?"

"Cause I have to go!" Lenora told him. "It's my little sister's birthday today. Grandma let me know even though she's still mad at me. And I think going would be a good idea, just to prove to her that you haven't brainwashed me and turned me against my family."

"Will you be needing an escort there?" James asked. "I'd be happy to take you."

"Well, that's sweet," Lenora told him. "But given my grandmother's reaction to us, I don't think it would be wise to introduce you to my family just yet. But the time _will_ come, I promise."

James nodded. "All right," he said. "In that case, let Max come with you to drop you off, at least. I don't want you going anywhere alone."

Lenora sighed. "Fine," she replied. "I'll take him with me. Whatever."

"Have a good time!" He called after her. She turned. "Thank you," she told him. "I will."

* * *

"I can't believe you didn't think to tell me Lenora was pregnant!" Adrian snapped at Helene as the two of them drove to Klaus' house for Felicity's party. "How could you have forgotten to mention something like that?"

"I didn't forget," Helene told him. "I just didn't think it was any of your business. She told me what happened and I told her I wasn't mad at her and if she wanted to live with Mr. Black and have a baby because that's what would make her happy, then it was all right with me."

"Have you forgotten she's still a child?" Adrian asked. "How could you allow that?"

Helene scoffed. "She may be young, but she's had a lot more experience in life than you'd like to believe. She's tough. She knows what it's like to be a little girl and try and call her father on the phone because he left her and then have him not even answer her. What the hell were you doing then that was so much more important than talking to your eight year old daughter?"

"Tessa and I were-" Adrian began.

"Oh, right!" Helene nodded. "Tessa. That bitch."

"I know she doesn't necessarily bring out the best in me, but-"

"That's an understatement," Helene interrupted again.

"Shut up, would you?" Adrian snapped. "I'm trying to say something important!"

"Fine," Helene told him. "What is it?"

"I'm trying to say that I don't think we should fight tonight," Adrian told her. "For Felicity's sake. I'm willing to be civil if you are, and then you can go back to spitting venom at me tomorrow."

"Stop acting like you actually care about her," Helene told him. "If you actually did, you wouldn't have given her away."

Adrian closed his eyes, counted to ten, and did his best to resist driving off the road. "You know," he told her, "You _are_ human now, so I _could_ just compel you to be civil. Do I need to do that?"

"You wouldn't do that," Helene told him.

"Maybe I would," Adrian told her. And maybe not. Do you really want to take the chance and keep badmouthing the most powerful person in this car?"

Helene narrowed her eyes. "I hate you," she snapped, sitting back in her seat. But she didn't say another word to try and provoke him the rest of the trip.

"I thought not," he told her.

They reached Klaus' around the same time Lenora did and when the latter saw her parents, she headed straight to them. "Hi," she greeted them. "Grandma Astrid told me about the party, so I just thought I'd come."

"Yeah," Adrian nodded. "Us too. Hello, Ladybug."

"Hi, Daddy," Lenora told him quietly. She tried to avoid his gaze. "How are you?"

"Fine," Adrian told her. "How about you? Your mother told me the...good news."

"I'm okay," Lenora nodded. "Thank you for asking."

At that point, Helene moved away from Adrian and walked beside Lenora instead. They sped up so they were both in the house before Adrian was. "Are you really all right?" Helene asked. "It was so sweet of you to come."

Lenora nodded. "James offered to escort me, but I figured things might still be too raw for him to show his face at a family function now."

Helene nodded. "Good instincts." They took off their coats and Klaus met them in the hallway.

"Well, hello," he said to them. "Glad you could make it."

"Of course we made it," Helene told him. "We _are_ Felicity's family, after all. Even if she doesn't really know that."

"And apparently we're not allowed to tell her," Adrian said to them. "He doesn't think she's old enough to handle it."

"She'll know in time," Klaus told them. "Just not now."

"Well, then," Helene asked, "Who do you plan to tell her we are?"

"I got passed off as a family friend," Adrian replied. "You'll probably be no different."

Klaus nodded and then turned to yell over his shoulder. "Lissy! Guests for your party are here! Come and say 'Hi'."

Felicity appeared a few minutes later, wearing a pink party dress, her blonde hair in ringlets. "Hi!" She waved at them. "Thank you for coming to my party." She paused. "I know who he is," she said, gesturing at Adrian. Then she looked at Helene and Lenora. "But I don't know who _you_ are."

"I'm Lenora," Lenora told her. "Happy birthday, Felicity."

"Thank you!" Felicity chirped. Then, she looked at Helene, who, although she was trying hard to be serious, had tears in her eyes as she gazed at her younger daughter. "Are you okay?" she asked. "Why are you crying?"

"No reason," Helene shook her head. "I'm fine. You look pretty in that dress." But tears continued to trickle from her eyes.

"Let me get you a tissue," Felicity offered, and then strode off to the bathroom, coming back with the tissue and offering it to her mother. "There," she said. "Now, don't be sad. We have cake! My mommy made it." She took Helene's hand and led her into the kitchen where an impressive three-tier chocolate cake stood on a counter, each level covered with a cake dome. "Mommy told me the top says 'Happy Birthday Lissy' on it, but I can't see that because I'm too short," Felicity explained. "Isn't it great?"

"Yes," Helene told her. "It's very nice."

Just then, Selina came into the kitchen. "You haven't touched this, have you?" She asked Felicity.

"No, Mommy!" Felicity shook her head. "I haven't, I swear!"

"All right," Selina said, kissing her. She picked up the cake and put it on the dining room table, despite nearly stumbling and dropping it. Elijah saw and put a hand on her back to stabilize her.

"Are you all right?" He asked.

"Yeah," Selina nodded. "Just a little dizzy, that's all. Not the best thing to be when you're holding a cake."

"Are you sure?" Elijah asked again.

"Yeah," Selina nodded. "I just need to sit down once I put the cake in the dining room and I'll be all right."

As she came back and Felicity cleared her throat. "These people came for my party," she told her. "Their names are Adrian, Helene and Lenora."

"Ah," Selina nodded. "Hello. Glad you could make it."

"Daddy said they're his friends," Felicity continued. "Mommy, are they your friends too?"

"Yes," Selina replied without missing a beat. "They are."

"Are Adrian, Helene and Lenora here yet?" Astrid called.

"Yes!" Felicity called back. "They just got here!"

"Good," Astrid nodded. "Now that everyone has arrived, we can start the party."

They opened presents and ate cake and then they went to the basement where everyone took seats in front of an area made up to look like a stage. Once everyone was settled, Alistair strode up in front of all assembled. "Hello, everyone," he said. "Felicity has been working very hard on her magic and for her birthday, she decided to show you all some of what she's been working on. Dear, you want to come up to the front?"

"Okay!" Felicity replied. She came up to the front of the crowd and stood in front of a tennis ball that was sitting on a table. She said a few words in a strong, clear voice and slowly but surely, the ball began to levitate a few inches over the table. Then, after a few seconds, she let it drop again. "Ta-da!" She cried triumphantly. Everyone clapped. She did a couple more demonstrations, and then it came time for her grand finale.

"To do my last bit of magic, I need a volunteer from the audience," she said. "Who wants to help me?"

To Helene and Lenora's surprise, Adrian cleared his throat. "I will."

"Okay!" Felicity said with the biggest grin she could make. "Come up here!"

Adrian came to stand next to his daughter and said, "All right, what do you want me to do?"

"Just shut your eyes," Felicity told him. "And don't worry."

Adrian tried to control his breathing and did what she asked. He shut his eyes and heard her mutter, and then the next thing he heard was the applause of the audience. He looked down and saw that most of him was there except for his legs. Felicity noticed this and said the spell again. After the rest of him was restored, he stumbled back to his seat beside Helene.

"You handled that well," Lenora told him. "I would have freaked out pretty bad if I knew I had no legs."

"Yeah," Helene agreed. "This is how he should have been acting about your and Felicity's magic all along instead of being a coward and running away."

"Helene..." Adrian told her warningly.

"Sorry," Helene told him. "I shouldn't have said that. We're not fighting right now."

Everyone headed upstairs and grabbed their coats. "Thanks for my presents, everyone!" Felicity said. "And coming to my party!"

Elijah helped Selina put on her coat and held onto her hand as they headed out the door.

"Are you all right?" He asked her as they drove away. "You didn't seem to be."

"It was just my new shoes," Selina told him. "These damn heels!"

"Are you _sure_ that's all it was?" Elijah pressed.

"Yes!" Selina replied. "Either that or I'm pregnant again. Take your pick."


	23. Starting Over

"What took you so long to get back?" James asked when Lenora arrived back at the castle the next day.

"Why does it matter?" Lenora asked. "And don't try to tell me you were worried about me. I'll see right through that." She looked out the window and noticed Luke torturing the prisoners. "He looks competent," she observed. "And that's good because you'll probably be working less once the baby comes."

"Why?" James asked. "Why won't you let me work?"

"Because it's not good for you!" Lenora told him. "Not when you have a family!"

"Speaking of family," James said slyly, "how was your sister's party? Did anyone ask about me?"

Lenora shrugged. "No one that didn't already know. Well, except for my dad. He kind of wants to kill you."

James grinned. "They always do. That's nothing new."

Lenora scoffed. "You seem like you've encountered disgruntled fathers before. Have you?"

James nodded. "Yes. I don't think you could have ever called me a truly loving person. The incident with my wife was just the last of a series of infractions against love, or so the Council said."

"Ah," Lenora nodded. "I understand."

"What about you?" James asked. "Would you say _you're_ a loving person?"

Lenora thought a moment. "I was," she said. "Until my father decided to leave. That kind of made me lose faith in the idea that everyone's good."

"How interesting," James replied. "If I ever meet him, want me to kill him for you?"

"No," Lenora shook her head. "You don't need to kill him. I just...I just won't be associating with him more than is absolutely necessary."

"And given the fact that your grandmother has all but disowned you over this relationship of ours," James mused, "I doubt she'll be asking you back for family functions too often."

"Yeah," Lenora nodded. "And maybe that's best. I have a new family to focus on now: you, Max and the baby. And you think we have a relationship?"

James shrugged. "Relationship...association...I got you pregnant. We have to be _something_."

"Yeah, I know that," Lenora told him. "I just didn't think you'd be the one to bring it up is all." She shivered. "It's a little chilly in here, isn't it? We'll have to fix that. Get someone from the council down here so we can at least do magic and make this place habitable for a baby. You put a kid in here now it wouldn't last five minutes!"

"Now how will we get someone from the Council here?" James asked. "Your grandmother's probably turned everyone against you by now."

"Grandma Astrid is _not_ that petty," Lenora said. "Even if she didn't like what I've done, she wouldn't let a kid suffer because of it. Maybe if it wasn't one of us who did the asking, she'd be more willing to oblige." She took a deep breath. "Max!" She called. "Will you come in here, please?"

"Yeah?" Max asked. "Did you need something?"

"Would you go to the Council offices tomorrow and see if you can talk to my grandmother?" Lenora asked him. "We need to get rid of whatever it is about this house that prevents us from doing magic removed temporarily so that I can do some renovating to make this place habitable for a baby."

"I'll see what I can do," Max told her.

* * *

And evidently, he succeeded at his mission because a couple of days later, Lenora found herself face to face with her grandmother.

"Hi, Grandma Astrid," Lenora told her. "Thanks for coming. Would you like to come in?"

"Well, I wouldn't be able to accomplish what you want from me if I didn't come in, now would I?" Astrid replied coldly, stepping inside. "Max said you wanted to do some renovating."

"Yeah," Lenora nodded. "Just to make this place safe for a baby, you know."

"I'm pleased to see you're taking this baby seriously and not as if it's some toy you're going to hand off to someone else while you go have fun," Astrid told her. "Honestly, it's what I expected of you."

"You mean you thought I was gonna be like my father because I'm young?" Lenora asked. "No, I'm not. As crazy as this situation is, it's my life now. I've accepted that and am doing what I can to cope."

"Is he bad to you?" Astrid asked. "James, I mean."

"No," Lenora shook her head. "He's all right. I mean, we don't _love_ each other yet or anything like that, but we get along."

Astrid nodded. "As long as you feel like this is the right thing for you, I won't say another word about it," she said. She waved her hand. "There. Now you should be able to do magic here. Take care of yourself."

"I will," Lenora said. "Thank you, Grandma Astrid!"

* * *

She'd left fully satisfied with her decision to let Lenora live her life with James, but apparently not everyone felt as good about it as she did. When she arrived for work the following day, she found a note on her office door. Her boss wanted to see her. She went to his office and knocked on the door.

"Sir?" She murmured. "You wanted to see me?"

"Yes," her boss replied, clearing his throat. "Sit down, please."

She sat down and he gave her a grave look. "What's been going on between your granddaughter and James Black?"

"She believes she's in love with him, sir," Astrid said. "And they're expecting a child."

Her boss stood up and slammed his palms down on his desk. "This is unacceptable! We put James Black where he is for one reason and one reason only: to torture those who have dishonored love! If he's fallen in love himself, how effective is he going to be?"

Astrid shrugged. "I don't know, sir. But really, I don't think it's as bad as you're making it out to be. Who are we to deprive a man of love just to suit our own needs? I think it's barbaric and makes you just as guilty as anyone you send to him."

Her boss narrowed his eyes. "You tell your granddaughter that she is released from whatever deal she made with James Black and that she is to leave and never see him again."

Astrid stood her ground. "I won't!" She cried. "It's unreasonable! We have Luke there to take over for James so it's not like there will be no one to carry out the punishments if James and my granddaughter are together. Let him go."

"So you won't end things between James and your granddaughter?" Her boss asked.

"No," Astrid shook her head. "I won't."

"Then you're fired," her boss said. "Clean out your office and turn in your identification card. We have no use for people who undermine our rules here."

Astrid nodded. "Yes, sir," she told him. "I understand, sir." She went and cleaned out her office, turned in her ID card, and turned her back on the Council offices, knowing that Lenora would most likely have her heart broken, but grateful that she wouldn't have to be the one to do it.

* * *

"Selina!" Enid cried as Selina strode into the bar. "It's been awhile."

"Yeah," Selina nodded. "I know, I'm sorry. I just...I have a business now and I've been busy."

"And you're going to continue to be busy," Enid told her. "I'm going to wish you luck right now."

"So I _am_ pregnant?" Selina asked. "I thought I was. We had a birthday party for Lissy recently and I felt queasy and dizzy through the whole thing. But isn't it a little early for that? I can't be _too_ far along."

"Stand up," Enid ordered. "Let's see what's going on with you." She shut her eyes and ran her hands over Selina's stomach, then burst out laughing. "Oh, my god!" She cried, opening her eyes.

"What is it?" Selina asked. "What's so funny?"

"Triplets," Enid replied with a twinkle in her eye. "You and your husband, you're going to have three babies."

"You mean three total over a span of many years, right?" Selina asked hopefully. "And right now, I'm just pregnant with the first one?"

"Nope!" Enid shook her head. "You're pregnant with three right now. How many kids does that make for you?"

"If you're serious about this, which you probably are because it's _not_ a nice trick to play on someone, it will be my ninth, tenth, and eleventh."

"That many?" Ronan asked, a twinkle in his eye. "You would have been worth a lot to some man back in my time."

"Yeah," Selina sighed, smiling at him. "I'm only sorry I won't be giving _you_ any more grandchildren, seeing as how you're the father-in-law that actually likes me. But you have the kids we already had, and their kids and their kids and so on and so forth. Has Klaus brought Lissy in here yet? Have you met her?"

"No," Klaus' biological father shook his head. "I haven't."

"She's Adrian and Helene's youngest daughter," Selina told him. "Not one of mine. Not that, as we have been discussing, I'm incapable of having children of my own."

"Yes," Enid nodded. "Triplets. Sheesh. But you'll do all right. Once you get through the first year, it's easy from then on."

"I've never raised more than one infant at a time before!" Selina complained. "I had Sam and Lucy and they were twins, but then Damon took Sam away so I just had Lucy, and now I'm gonna have three kids at once and I'm not gonna get any sleep, I'm scared and I think I feel sick!"

"You'll do fine," Enid assured her. "You're a very capable person and and between you and Elijah, you'll get through this."

"Get through what?" Roxie asked, coming back to the bar from the bathroom.

"Your mom and your uncle are having triplets," Enid told her. "And she's a little freaked out about it."

Roxie scoffed. "I would be too. Kids are so _needy_ when they're babies and if you have more than one, it takes about a million years before you can have a social life again, or even a sex life."

"Oh, yay," Selina sighed. "Something else to look forward to."

"Does Uncle Elijah know yet?" Roxie asked.

"No," Selina shook her head.

Roxie grinned. "Well, you better go tell him. That way, he'll be as anxious as you, and you won't have to deal with this terror by yourself. That's what marriage is all about."

"Yeah," Selina sighed. "I better go tell him. He'll probably come up with something practical to say which will stop making me feel like I want to pass out from terror."

"Well, that's useful," Enid replied.

"Yeah," Selina managed to grin. "It was one of the reasons I married him."

* * *

"So what did the doctor say?" Elijah asked. "I assume your hunch was correct."

"I didn't see a doctor," Selina told him. "Although I should have. It would have been less terrifying."

"Why?" Elijah asked, his eyes wide. "Selina, if there's something wrong-"

"No, it's not like that!" Selina reassured him quickly. "It's just...I saw Enid and apparently, you and I are gonna have triplets."

Elijah froze. "Triplets? As in...three babies? At the same time?"

"Yeah!" Selina giggled nervously. "Three babies at the same time. Won't that be jolly? It might even kill both of us! Damn you for being so fertile." She gave him a weak smile.

"It'll be all right," he told her, coming around to take her in his arms. "We can do this. We'll be prepared by the time they all come. We should probably start by getting a bigger house."

Selina nodded. "Definitely. Not many bedrooms left in this one."

"Exactly," Elijah nodded.

Selina headed to the door, then paused and turned around. "If you're nervous about this too," she told him, "that's okay. You don't have to pretend otherwise just for my sake."

Elijah smiled at her. "You're very sweet, darling, but it wouldn't be good for both of us to be nervous. Nothing would get done that way. So you go rest and I'll...I'll look up house listings and see if I can find anything suitable."

Selina nodded. "All right," she told him. "Sounds like a plan to me."

She left and then Elijah called Alistair and told him the news.

"She told you you were going to have _triplets_?" Alistair asked, sounding shocked. "Was she playing some sort of joke on you?"

"No," Elijah replied. "She sounded very serious. I'm going to look for a bigger house for us in a moment, but first, I have a favor to ask of you."

"Of course," Alistair replied. "Anything."

"I know that it's my brother you're meant to serve for the rest of eternity," Elijah began, "but he seems to have things under control with Felicity, so I was wondering if you wouldn't mind helping Selina and me out for a little while. I don't want her getting overwhelmed by having so many small children around at the same time and I know she won't allow me to hire outside help because she likes being independent and doing things on her own, but I figure she'll at least let _you_ in to assist, right?"

"And even if she doesn't agree to it right away," Alistair added, "I think that between the two of us and three screaming babies who won't give her a moments peace, she'll eventually be convinced to see the light. Would you like me to move in now?"

"Whenever it's convenient," Elijah replied. "Thank you, Alistair."

"You're welcome, my friend," Alistair replied.

* * *

It was Selina who opened the door to Alistair's knock. When she saw him standing there, holding suitcases and grinning jovially, she smiled back, feeling confused. "Come in," she told him. "What are the bags for?"

"Go tell Elijah I'm here and we'll explain," he said.

Selina turned. "Elijah!" She called. "Alistair's here! He says the two of you have something to tell me."

Elijah appeared, grinning. "Oh, hello, Alistair. You brought bags I see. Good, good."

"What's going on?" Selina asked. "Why does he have bags? He's not moving in, is he?"

"It won't be forever," Elijah assured her. "Just until the triplets are grown enough to be able to do things by themselves."

"Wait," Selina said. "You brought him here to help with the babies?"

"Yes," Elijah nodded. "I know you will object to this, Selina, but I'm standing firm."

Selina grinned, hugging him and then Alistair, much to their surprise. "You're right," she admitted. "Ordinarily, I _would_ object and object strenuously to help like this, but given the fact that it's Alistair and that if I tried to raise three kids by myself, I would go insane, I have no objections. You two carry on with this genius plan of yours and I will get back to looking at those housing options you gave me. I think I'm close to picking one." She left and Alistair looked at Elijah.

"Well, that's a bit anticlimactic, wasn't it?" He asked. "I was counting on more of a fight. What have you done to her?"

Elijah grinned. "I haven't done anything except be patient and firm, Alistair. It's taken time, but I believe she's finally beginning to come around."

* * *

"What's the matter with you?" Adrian asked Helene, who was sobbing mightily. "Can I do anything to help? You haven't stopped crying since we got back from Lissy's party and that was days ago."

"Yeah!" She snapped, moving away from him. "You can start by not touching me!"

"Well, all right," he told her, backing away. "I'm sorry! I just thought, you know, that you might have had a hard time at Felicity's party and I wanted to help!"

"Sure you do," Helene scoffed, looking at him with wet, red-rimmed eyes. "It's your fault I'm like this cause you gave Felicity away and now you want to help! It shouldn't have been like this, Adrian! Felicity should be calling _me_ Mom! I only have so many opportunities to hear that because of your selfishness and instead of getting my chance, I have to hear _my _daughter that_ I _gave birth to say it to your mother, who at any given time can hear the same sentiment from at least three other children cause she's the most damn fertile woman on the planet! But none of this occurred to you when you gave her away, right? All that mattered was getting rid of someone you considered an unwanted nuisance regardless of who it would hurt to have her gone! Is that what you were thinking, you selfish bastard?"

She burst into tears again and Adrian attempted to reach out and console her. "Hey," he said, trying to stay calm. "I want to help you, but I can't if you don't tell me how."

At this, Helene became quiet. "Get me a knife," she said.

"What?" Adrian asked.

"Get me a knife!" she repeated.

"What are you gonna do with it?" Adrian asked.

Helene wiped her eyes. "I can't live like this anymore," she said. "Adrian, I'm going to kill myself and then all the hurt will go away. And you can be free to be with Tessa or whoever just like you always wanted."

Adrian stared at her for a long moment, then got up and silently went to the kitchen. He got a knife and brought it back, holding it out to her. "Here," he said. "Take it."

Helene was disconcerted for a moment. "What?"

"Take it," he repeated. "You say you want to kill yourself, so go ahead. I'm not gonna stop you. My actions have made you miserable enough to go that far and clearly there's nothing I can say or do that will be good enough to bring you back to yourself, so I'm gonna let you die like you want."

Helene took the knife. "Thank you," she told him. "Now go away. I want to die alone."

Adrian nodded. "All right," he told her. "Goodbye." He got up and went to their room, shut his eyes, and waited.

After he heard Helene's shriek of pain, he ran out into the living room, getting down on his knees beside her and cradling her dying body. He looked into her brown eyes and said, "I don't know if this is some sort of test, but I can't watch this. I can't just let this happen. I don't want you to die."

He cut his wrist. "Swallow," he told her. "Please."

Reluctantly, she swallowed. "I can't believe you're being so selfish as to keep me alive when you know how much hurt I have inside of me."

"I do know," Adrian told her. "And I know that I'm the cause of a lot of it. But I want to suggest something to you. What if you had the chance to start over again? What would you say?"

Helene winced. "Start over again? How?"

"We can leave here," Adrian explained. "Start our lives all over again and leave all the pain and hurt behind. Isn't that what you want? To not hurt anymore?"

"Yes," Helene nodded. "I want it all to _stop_."

"I can help you do that," he said. "Will you let me, Helene? Please? It'll give us a chance to start over."

Helene groaned. "Will you leave me again?" She asked. "Because if you're planning to, my answer is 'no'."

"I promise I won't leave you again," he told her. "Not ever."

"Fine," Helene whispered. There wasn't much to her voice. She pushed the knife toward him and both of them ignored the trail of blood it left on the carpet.

"Shut your eyes," Adrian told her. He took her hand, and then, after taking a deep breath to steady himself, he plunged the knife into her again. Her blood spurted all over him, but he stayed resolute and took it out only when he was sure she was dead. Then, he sat back and waited. When she opened her eyes again and looked toward him, he asked, "How are you feeling?"

"Hungry," she got out. "Adrian, I'm so _hungry_."

"Well, come on then," he told her as he helped her to her feet. "Let's go get you something to eat."


	24. Foolish Pride

"What kind of place is this?" Helene asked Adrian as he led her into a building. "Can I eat here?"

"Yeah," Adrian gestured at all the people at the tables. "Take your pick. You can have anyone you want."

She looked at the bunch of people, her tongue poking out to slowly lick her bottom lip. Then she grinned. "Okay," she said. "What if I'm bad at it? What if I try to go after someone and they run?"

"How about I make it easy for you since this is your first time," Adrian told her. Since they were at a sports bar, it was full of men staring at a football game. Each one of them was paying next to no attention to anything other than the screen. Adrian found a man at a table in a far off corner, tapped him on the shoulder, and ordered him to stand up. "Remain still," he said. "And don't scream." Then, he called Helene over. "All right," he told her, his hands around her waist as he stood behind her. "I got him still. He won't fight you. Now, drink." Helene giggled and pounced on the man, sucking greedily. Adrian watched with pride in his eyes and when he pulled her away, she eyed him resentfully. "I was still eating!"

"That's enough for now!" Adrian told her. "You can have more later."

"Why can't I have it now?" Helene asked. "What else do we have to do with ourselves?"

"I just don't want you getting in over your head," Adrian told her. "This is all very new to you."

Helene licked the blood off her lips. "Fine," she said. "What do we do now? Do we leave?"

"Yes," Adrian nodded. "I'm gonna take you back to the house."

Helene rolled her eyes. "Fine," she told him. "Take me back to the house. I don't see what good it will do, though."

"You mean you just want to stay around here and kill people?" Adrian asked in surprise.

"Well, yeah," Helene nodded. "Isn't that the point of all this? What did you do while you were away from Lenora and me? Sow wild oats by killing innocents? I want to do that too!"

Adrian shut his eyes tight. He felt torn. He didn't like seeing her this way. It was not her place to want to be evil and kill people. That was _his_ thing and she was supposed to be the calm, stable one that talked him out of it. It just wasn't fair. "I don't care if you want to do that too," Adrian told her. "You aren't doing it today." He grabbed her arm. "Let's go!"

Helene struggled against his grip, then hissed and clawed at his face, leaving scratch marks on his cheek. He hissed back, his hand going to his face. "That hurt!" He said through his teeth. "What did you do that for?"

"I _told_ you that I want to stay here!" Helene told him, her eyes narrowed. "You can go home if you want, but don't try forcing me to come with you!"

Adrian just laughed. "Nice try," he said. "But you're not a witch anymore. You're not more powerful than me." He picked her up and carried her out of the building to his car, ignoring her protests. When they reached the car, he plopped her down in the backseat and buckled her belt. But she was still whining vociferously about wanting to go back inside, so he thought he'd try something. He knew that he'd inherited being difficult to kill from his father, but he wondered if there was anything else he'd been given. He took Helene's chin in his hand so that she was looking him in the eye. "You will be calm," he told her. "We will go home and you will not say a word until we are inside. Do you understand me?"

Helene eyed him balefully, but when she opened her mouth, no words came out. Her eyes widened and she began to stomp and thrash angrily. Adrian grinned as he headed to the driver's seat. So he _could_ compel other vampires just like his father. That was useful to know. When they paused at a stoplight, he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around and saw that Helene had a scrap of paper in her hand. He took it from her and read it, smirking the entire time. "No," he replied, wadding up the paper and throwing it on the floor. "Don't worry. I won't use this power to make you do what I want in our bedroom. It's much less fun that way."

Helene rolled her eyes and blew a raspberry at him as the light turned green and Adrian started up the car again.

By the time they reached the house, Helene could speak again. "I can't believe you did that!" She complained. "I oughta kill you!"

"But you can't!" Adrian told her gleefully. "If you'd been more careful before and not overstepped your boundaries, you'd be able to now, but you fucked up and now you're just a weak, near powerless _thing._"

Helene cleared her throat. "You know, you're not being very nice to me. How is this a good way for us to start over? I thought you loved me!"

"I do," Adrian told her. "And that is why I'm trying so hard to make sure that you don't do anything that will get you hurt or in trouble. You're new at being a vampire, so any vampire who is older than you, along with werewolves, witches, and whatever the hell else is out there could hurt you pretty damn easily. And I don't want that. So until I teach you how to handle yourself, you have to stay in the house unless I'm around to watch out for you. Do you understand? And we'll have to see about getting you a ring. Maybe we can ask your dad to make one for you."

"Oh, I'm sure he'll enjoy that," Helene replied. "He was angry enough when I got my powers taken away. Imagine how mad he'll be once he finds out I tried to kill myself and then got turned into a vampire. This is the exact scenario he's dreaded since you and I were _children_! He's not gonna want to help me out."

"You'll never know unless you ask," Adrian told her. "So let's do that, okay? And if he says 'no', we'll find someone else to do it. It will work out just fine."

* * *

"So when are we gonna get me a sign that says 'wide load'?" Selina asked as she made her way into Elijah's new office.

Elijah looked up. "Don't be silly, darling," he told her. "You're very beautiful."

Selina grinned. "You're sweet. I was being sarcastic. I understand that having three kids in me makes me bigger than usual and I can deal with that. Although it's not fun when they're jockeying for position. I have to pee like every five minutes. But you probably didn't need to know that. Anyway, it's not what I came in here for."

"What *did* you come in here for?" Elijah asked.

"My back's a little sore and I wondered if you'd mind rubbing it for me, but if you're busy-" She turned back to the office door and took a step or two.

"No, it's all right!" Elijah told her, putting his papers down. "You can stay. I'd be happy to give you a back rub."

Selina grinned. "Thank you, honey. You're so sweet."

She groaned and sat down on a stool while Elijah stayed in his leather chair and rubbed her back. Selina put a hand on her stomach. "Four months," she said. "We'll figure out whether we're having boys or girls pretty soon."

"I want girls," Elijah said. "We only have one of those."

"I don't know how Laura will feel about us having more girls," Selina cautioned. "She might be upset about losing her daddy's attention."

Just then, the doorbell rang. "I'll get it!" Laura called. She ran to the door and opened it, finding Adrian on the other side. "Hi," she told him. "What's up?"

"Is somebody named Alistair here?" Adrian asked her. "I need to speak to him."

"Yeah," Laura nodded. "Alistair is here." She stepped away from the door. "Come in." Adrian followed her inside and sat down on a sofa.

"Wait," Laura told him. "I think I know you. Don't I?"

Adrian shrugged. "Possibly."

"Wait!" Laura cried. "You're related to Uncle Klaus, aren't you?"

"Yes," Adrian nodded. "I am. Now could you please go get Alistair or your father or _somebody_? I'm in a bit of a hurry here."

"Okay," Laura told him. "Just a minute." She looked at the clock and thought about where her father would be. She tried the library first, then his office. The door was closed and she heard giggling coming from inside. Cautiously, she knocked on the door. "Daddy!" She called. "Are you in there?"

There were several minutes of silence and then Elijah called, "Come in, Laura dear!"

Laura opened the door and saw Selina and Elijah sitting on either side of his desk. His hair and suit jacket were rumpled as was Selina's dress.

"Sorry if I interrupted anything, Daddy," Laura told Elijah. "There's a guy here and he needs you or Alistair, and also he says it's an emergency."

"All right," Elijah stood up and attempted to straighten his trousers, but gave up and strode over to Laura. "Take me to him," he commanded.

When he saw Adrian, he sat down next to him and eyed him with concern. "What's wrong?" He asked. "You're not thinking of resuming any bad habits, are you, Adrian?"

"No," Adrian shook his head. "I'm not here about me. I'm here about Helene. Is Alistair around?"

"I thought Helene wasn't speaking to you because of your chronic irresponsibility," Elijah told him. "When did that change?"

"After Felicity's birthday party," Adrian said quietly. "Helene saw Felicity and heard her treating Mom like her mother, and it drove her off the deep end. She told me to get her a knife so she could kill herself cause she didn't want to live anymore knowing that she'd most likely never get to be a mother to our youngest. I gave her the knife, told her that I would let her do what she wanted, and then, after she'd plunged the knife into herself once, I told her that I wouldn't let her die and gave her some of my blood. She's a vampire now, and she needs a daylight ring. I was hoping Alistair could make one up for her."

"Well, where is Helene now?" Elijah asked. "Don't tell me you left a new vampire alone."

"Of course not," Adrian shook his head. "Do you think I'm stupid?"

"Where is she?" Elijah asked.

Adrian cleared his throat. "With Vince and Roxie."

Elijah nodded. "Well, go back to Roxanne's and Alistair and I will meet you there." He hung up and went to tell Selina were he was going.

"_What's_ happened to Helene?" Selina asked in shock.

"She tried to kill herself and Adrian turned her into a vampire," Elijah repeated. "She's having some trouble adjusting and I'm going to go with Alistair to help. Please don't ask if you can come too. It would be much safer for you to stay here."

"All right," Selina told him. "Just go and help Helene. I'll be all right, I promise."

* * *

"I don't know if it was such a good idea to let your brother leave Helene here," Vince told Roxie. "You know my sister's coming tonight to see the twins and that will just be awkward."

"Well, I'm sorry," Roxie snapped. "But she's married to my brother, she's family, he needed help with her, what was I supposed to do? Say 'no'?"

Vince sighed and rubbed his temple. "No," he told her. "You're right. You did the right thing. When Tessa gets here, we'll just do our best to keep them apart."

"Uh-oh," Roxie whispered.

"What?!" Vince asked.

"It's a full moon tonight," Roxie replied, grimacing. "That means Tessa and I will be a little...busy. You stay inside with Helene and do the best you can to stop her from running in to Tessa. I don't want to have to deal with my brother's reaction to Helene being bitten. They've already been through enough in the last twenty-four hours."

There was a knock at the door. "I'll get it!" Addie replied. "I hope it's Aunt Tessa!" She opened the door and saw Adrian on the other side. "It's not Aunt Tessa," she called to Roxie, feeling slightly disappointed. "It's Uncle Adrian!"

"Well, nice to see you too, kid," Adrian told Addie, ruffling her hair as he stepped in the house. "How's your Aunt Helene? She causing any trouble?"

"No," Addie shook her head. "Mommy put her to bed. She's had some blood bags too."

"Good," Adrian nodded. "Good. Which room did your mother put her in?"

Addie shrugged. "I don't know. Ask Mommy."

Adrian went to find Roxie and Vince. Roxie told him which room she put Helene in and he went to check on her. "Hi, sweetie," he said when he saw her. "How are you doing?"

Helene slurped from a blood bag and winced. "I need stronger stuff than this," she frowned. "It's disgusting!" She threw it on the floor, and a bit of blood spattered beside it. "Let's go out," she begged, putting her arms around Adrian. "Can we_ please_ go out?"

Adrian shook his head. "I'm sorry, sweetie. It's a full moon tonight, so I'm gonna be busy for a little while. Do you promise you'll stay in here until Roxie and I get back and not cause a problem for anyone?"

"Okay," Helene sighed and eyed him balefully, her lower lip jutting out. "I suppose I can wait. But you owe me!"

Just then, the door downstairs opened again and this time, it was Tessa. Helene heard Addie announce her name just as Adrian opened the door to leave the room. Adrian saw her body tense, her eyes narrow, and her fangs begin lengthen. "Tessa," she whispered. "That little-" She sped out of the room just as Adrian cried, "No, Helene! Stay!"

But it did no good. He ran after her, but by the time he caught up, Helene had Tessa pinned to the ground. Tessa, however, did not seem worried. Instead, she just smiled up at Helene. "Well, bravo," she told her. "Aren't you the powerful one for catching me?"

"Kids?" Roxie told Addie and Joey who were watching TV, "Go up to your rooms and don't come out until we tell you."

Hearing the urgency in their mother's voice, Addie grabbed Joey's hand and they ran off to their rooms, slamming the doors behind them.

Meanwhile, Helene was still having her face off with Tessa. "Yes," she said. "I _do_ think I'm powerful for catching you. I've only been a vampire for a day and I've taken down my first werewolf. A good accomplishment, I think."

"Helene," Adrian coaxed. "Get off Tessa and go upstairs with the twins. Trust me, it's the best place for you right now."

"No!" Helene shook her head. "The best place for me to be is putting this _bitch_ in her place!"

"Helene," Adrian tried again. "I don't think you quite understand the consequences of what you-" He was cut off as light shone in the room from the open window. Adrian, Roxie and Tessa all turned at the same time. Helene's eyes widened as she was flipped over onto her back, a snarling, drooling wolf standing over her. She tried to push it, but it wouldn't move. As its jaws got closer and closer to her face, she shut her eyes and prepared for the inevitable. But then, Tessa let out a howl as another, larger wolf knocked her aside. They began to fight, snapping, yapping and growling. Every time Tessa tried to get near Helene, the bigger wolf lured her away. Helene was able to take her mind off the fighting wolves long enough to wonder where Roxie had gone to. She'd probably had the sense to leave the house and would be back in good time.

Helene had stayed relatively safe for most of the fight while Tessa's attention was distracted, but a ring on the doorbell distracted Adrian's attention so that Tessa was able to sneak back to Helene, who managed to kill her, but in the end, got a bite on the arm for her trouble.

After this, Vince came back with Alistair and Elijah. Alistair got a good look at his daughter's wound and shut his eyes, while Vince and Elijah herded Tessa outside. They tried to move Adrian along too, but he wouldn't budge. He stayed by Helene's side, his head resting on her knee.

"She bit me, Daddy," Helene said to Alistair. "That bitch bit me!"

Alistair sighed. "With you being a vampire now, that's not good. This could kill you. Why did you have to try and fight that woman? Why couldn't you have stayed put like you were told?"

"It could _kill_ me?" Helene asked, getting choked up. "There has to be some way to make it better. Can't you do a spell or something?"

Alistair shook his head. "No spell will cure that. Only Klaus' blood will. We'll have to take you to see him. And then once you've healed, I'll make up a ring for you."

Helene nodded. "Thank you, Daddy. Are you really disappointed in me? I know you never wanted me to be this way."

Alistair sighed. "Between your daughter getting your mother fired for her current romantic entanglements and you becoming a vampire for yours, I'd say yours is the easier one to accept. I mean, of _course_ your mother and I always hoped that one day you'd marry a nice warlock and live as close to a normal life as you possibly could, but that's not how things worked out. It seems like they never do, and you just have to take what comes and find a way to make the best of it." He stood up and took her hand. She winced as he led her, Elijah and Adrian the wolf out to his car and they all headed to Klaus' house.

* * *

"Why are you still lying there?" Lenora asked James as he tucked himself in on the mat one evening. "It's not necessary anymore."

"Yes, it is," James told her. "You need the bed more than I do and I wouldn't want to make you fear for your virtue."

"That's ridiculous!" Lenora told him. "It's a big bed! There's enough room for both of us! No one should have to sleep in front of the fire cause this is not Cinderella. Now, will you please come to bed with me? Then she scoffed. "You've already destroyed my virtue, or however you want to say it. What more could you possibly do to me?"

James gave her a sly grin. "Are you sure you trust me? I could be wicked."

"I kind of like you wicked," she grinned. "Show me how wicked you are."

James peered at her. "You're serious about this?" He asked. "You really think you could share a bed with me?"

"Yes," Lenora nodded. "Yes, James I am very sure I could share a bed with you, so let's stop talking about it and actually do it!"

"All right, all right!" James yelled as he got up off the mat. "I'll come to bed with you, you annoying woman!"

"You don't think I'm annoying," Lenora said, taking his hand and walking with him to their bedroom. "You think I'm pretty, don't you."

"You're not bad-looking, I suppose," James told her as she pushed him to a sitting position on the bed and then undressed slowly. "Not bad at all." He grabbed her and she giggled as he pulled her onto the bed, grinning down at her. "Maybe this'll work," he told her, kissing her collarbone and gently rubbing her breasts. "Maybe sharing a bed permanently is not such a bad idea after all."

He kissed her deeply, and when they pulled apart, she grinned. "_Of course _it wasn't a bad idea. I thought of it! You're the one who comes up with bad ideas, Mr. 'Create my perfect man and have him cheat on me so I'll kill his girlfriend and you can bring me here under nearly false pretenses'."

"That's an awfully long name," he said. "How about you just call me 'Sexy' and we'll leave it at that?" He grinned.

"I don't know," she told him. "You're pretty cocky. I don't know if I like that in a man."

"Oh, please, Lenora," he scoffed. "You_ love_ my cockiness."

"I like I man who knows what he wants," she nodded.

"I _do_ know what I want," he said. "I want you." He kissed her and then they made love, falling asleep soundly afterward until Max roused them the next morning.

"What is it?" James asked sleepily. "If you can handle it yourself, Max, please do. We're tired."

"I can see that you had a long night," Max told him. "But Lenora's grandmother called. She wants to speak to both of you. Now."

Lenora and James looked at one another, bleary-eyed. "Fine," James replied. "Do you have the phone, Max? Give it to me."

"I think it might be best if she talked to Lenora," Max told him and handed Lenora the phone.

"Grandma?" Lenora asked sleepily. "Good morning. What did you want to talk about?"

"I've been fired from my job at the council," Astrid told her. "Because I stuck up for your relationship with James. They're all convinced that he can be nothing more than a cruel, heartless jailer. However, you see something more in him. I know that. If you two and your family are to live in peace, away from their prying eyes, we'll have to make adjustments to your house and to your lives. Would you be willing to do that?"

"Sure," Lenora nodded. "We'll do whatever it takes."

"Good," Astrid said approvingly. "I'll be there in awhile."

"But if you've been fired from the Council, how will you get here?" Lenora asked. "I thought the only way here was through the portals in the Council building."

"That's just the most common way to get to where you are," Astrid said. "Each council member also gets home version of the portal so they can get to work in inclimate weather or if they have to do work from home."

"Oh," Lenora nodded. "Well, that's handy."

"Yes," Astrid said. "See you in a few minutes."

By the time Astrid arrived, Lenora and James had gotten dressed and came out to meet her. "Did you really stick up for James and me?" Lenora asked, hugging her. "Thank you."

Astrid sighed. "You're welcome. I'm probably crazy for doing it, but I figure as long as you have a child on the way, you at least deserve a _chance_ to try and make things work."

"So what are you going to do?" Lenora asked. "Do we have to leave here?"

"You could if you wanted," Astrid replied, looking around. "Although the place does look more comfortable than the last time I was here."

Lenora looked at James. "You want to leave?" She asked him. "Or do you want to stay here?"

"I think I'd like to stay, if you don't mind," James replied. "Even when it was a hellhole, I was fond of it. I can't imagine living anywhere else."

"All right," Astrid nodded. "I'm going to put a cloaking spell on the castle, along with a few other spells. The castle will be invisible from here on out. No one will be allowed out unless you're attending to your duties, James, which can be any time between five a.m. and noon. Otherwise, you are to stay in here. I know it's boring and I know it's dull, but it's for your own safety and, dare I say, your own happiness. Do you understand me?"

"Yes, Grandma," Lenora nodded. "We understand. Go ahead and do the spell."


	25. An Inquisition

"What's Helene doing here?" Felicity asked Stefan. "Why is she crying? Why can't I see her?"

"She's having some trouble right now," Stefan told Felicity. "She's been hurt and your dad doesn't want you to be scarred for life seeing that."

"I won't be scarred for life!" Felicity shook her head. "I was okay when he said he killed the principal." She made her way to the door and as she tried to reach for the knob, Stefan picked her up and carried her away.

"You're not supposed to leave this room," Stefan reminded her. "Why can't you listen?"

"Because I want to see," Felicity told him. "I don't care what daddy says!" She made her way to the door again, but Stefan blocked it.

"We're going to stay in here and you're gonna behave," Stefan told her.

"But I'm bored!" Felicity complained. "You won't play tea party or dolls with me! Or even teddy bear theatre!"

Stefan groaned. "That's because those games are stupid," he said. "But if one of them will make you stay put, I'll suck it up."

"Really?" Felicity asked. "Okay!"

They were in the second act of the teddy bear version of Red Riding Hood when Klaus opened the door. "I'm sorry," he said when he saw them. "Am I interrupting something?"

"No," Stefan replied. "Everything okay?" He got up to leave and then Felicity said, "Wait, Uncle Stefan! You can't leave yet! We haven't finished the second act!"

"Let me tell you something, kid," Stefan told her. "It ends with the wolf eating grandma, so now that you know, I'm gonna leave, all right?"

Felicity rolled her eyes and looked at Klaus. "He doesn't like arts, does he?"

"I'm sure he'll play with you later," Klaus told her.

"Why can't I see Helene?" Felicity asked.

"Because Helene is a new vampire and if you get close to her now, she could hurt you and I don't think you're strong enough to get away yet," Klaus replied. "I don't want you to get hurt. That and she's very badly hurt herself. I'll have her come see you when she gets better, okay?"

"All right," Felicity nodded.

Klaus went back to the living room where Helene was lying on the sofa, her bite looking red and angry.

"Let's fix you up then," Klaus said to her. He made to bite his wrist, but Adrian stopped him. "Wait a minute, Dad. I want to try something."

"What else is there to try?" Alistair asked. "Adrian, you know your father's blood is the only way to heal a werewolf bite."

"Maybe not," Adrian replied. He bit himself and let some of his blood dribble into Helene's mouth. She swallowed and coughed, and then they waited.

"You really think your blood will do the same thing for her that mine will?" Klaus asked.

"Why not?" Adrian asked. "I'm hard to kill like you, I can compel vampires like you can, who's to say that my blood can't heal a bite like yours can?" He went back to looking at Helene and was pleased to see that her bite diminished and then finally disappeared.

"Am I better?" Helene asked. "I feel better."

"Yeah," Adrian told her. "You're fine. Now just don't go fighting any more werewolves. At least not until you've been around a little longer."

"Okay," Helene sighed. "I promise."

"Now that you're better, Helene, would you mind going to see Felicity?" Klaus asked. "She's in her room and she was worried about you."

"All right," Helene nodded. Adrian helped her to stand up and she strode to Felicity's room, knocking on the door.

"Come in!" Felicity called.

Helene opened the door and came inside. "Hi, sweetie," she said. "Your...father... told me that you were worried about me."

"Uh-huh," Felicity nodded. "Daddy said you were hurt and I wanted to make you feel better, but he told me I had to stay in here."

Helene got on her knees beside her daughter and cautiously put her arms around her. "You're sweet for thinking of me that way," she said. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Felicity said, hugging Helene back. "Are you staying here, or are you going to leave?"

Helene shrugged. "I don't know. Why?"

"Cause," Felicity replied. "When you leave, I'm gonna miss you."

"You don't even know me all that well," Helene told her.

"I know you're nice," Felicity replied. "What else is there?"

Helene shut her eyes tight, taking Felicity in her arms again. "I wish you could come with me too, but that's not something that will work right now. you stay here with your father and I'll see you again sometime. I promise."

"When?" Felicity asked.

"I don't know," Helene replied. "But I swear I won't leave and never come back. I wouldn't do something like that to you."

"Okay," Felicity said. "If you promise." She let Helene go, and then Helene, wiping tears from her eyes, went to join Adrian. "What's going on in here?" She asked.

"I was just telling Dad how you and I were looking for a new start," Adrian replied. "And he said he had some friends down in New Orleans who we might like to meet."

Helene shrugged. "That sounds okay. I'd be willing to give it a try."

"Good," Adrian nodded. "Let's go then." He looked at everyone assembled. "Bye, Dad. Uncle Elijah, will you tell Mom where I am so she doesn't worry?"

"Of course," Elijah nodded.

"And I promise to write once we get there," Helene promised Alistair. Then they left the house and everyone sensed that they'd probably never come back.

* * *

"I know that this whole spell thing was for our own protection so that the Council wouldn't find where we are and ruin everything for us," Lenora told James, "but don't you feel stupid just hiding like this? Wouldn't you rather face everyone?"

James sighed. "You know I would," he said. "Do you have any suggestions as to how we might go about that?"

Lenora shrugged. "I suppose I could go and tell them you and I want to get married," she suggested. "It might make you look more respectable, so they'll be more inclined to agree."

"I don't_ want _to get married, though," James told her. "I've done it before and it didn't suit me. Do you want to get married?"

Lenora shook her head. "Not really. I don't see much difference between being your pregnant sixteen year old wife and your pregnant sixteen year old mistress."

James smirked. "You know," he said to her, "sometimes, I forget how young you really are. You act much older."

"Yeah, well," Lenora nodded. "I've been through a lot. That ages you." She paused, her eyes widening. "Oh, god," she cried, sitting down. "Oh, god."

"What?" James asked. "What is it?"

"Nothing," Lenora took a deep breath. "Just the baby letting me know he's here, although my forgetting that fact is impossible." She paused. "You wanna feel?" She asked.

James shook his head. "No, thanks," he said. "I don't know if I want to."

"Oh, come on!" Lenora told him, coming to punch him on the arm. "It's your child, for heaven's sake!"

"Fine," James grumbled. He put his hand on her stomach and his eyes widened as the baby kicked again. "Oh, my god," he said. "What the hell is that?"

"I told you," Lenora replied. "That's the baby. Did you think I've been making it up all these months?"

"Well, no," James replied. "But really, can you imagine me as a proper father?"

Lenora shrugged. "Don't worry about that," she said. "We may be unconventional, but I think we'll do all right."

* * *

Astrid sat alone in her and Alistair's house, drinking a cup of tea and thinking.

"What's wrong?" asked a voice. "What can I help you with?" A blonde, blue-eyed, ethereal-looking woman appeared in front of Astrid.

"Hazel!" She started at the sight of the magic rule-keeper standing in front of her. "What are you doing here?"

"I don't know," Hazel replied. "You're the one who called me. What's the trouble?"

"I-oh, it's nothing, never mind." Astrid told her. "Sorry for bothering you."

"Is it about your losing your job at the Council?" Hazel asked.

"Not necessarily," Astrid replied. "I think I had that coming. What kind of a fool would support something that blatently breaks the rules? _Especially_ if they work for the Council? I just don't understand how James and Lenora could even like each other! He's a bad man and she-she has potential that is being squashed this very minute. He did something to make her go with him. I know she's too smart to go on her own."

Hazel sighed. "You're right and you aren't," she said. "She did make a deal with him that was legitimate, but _he_ manipulated her so that he benefitted from the deal a lot sooner than he should have."

"I knew it!" Astrid cried. "Hazel, can't you do something? Can't you have him arrested or killed? He needs to be punished _somehow_!"

"And in a strange way, I believe he is," Hazel assured her. "As many rules as the Council makes, they can't control everything. Sometimes the world just works in strange ways. James cheated on his deal with your granddaughter and brought her into his home, and now they're forming a connection when he's done nothing but spurn personal connections for the last few hundred years. She's making him_ care_ about something, expose a vulnerability in himself. And for a man who's built a fearsome reputation on his not having a heart, feeling love and closeness again, and fearing that it could be taken away is one of the worst punishments there is." She paused. "Do you feel better?"

Astrid nodded. "I think so."

"And here's more good news," Hazel told her. "You're gonna get your job back at the Council soon."

"I am?" Astrid asked in surprise. "How?"

"You'll see," Hazel told her. "Just wait, and you'll see."

* * *

"I think I'll go pay a visit to the Council today," Lenora told Max a week or so later.

"Why would you do that?" Max asked. "Your grandmother doesn't work there anymore and based on your association with James, they aren't going to be particularly happy to see you."

"I don't care about that," Lenora told him. "I think there's some stuff about James that they need to know. If I tell them that he's not as bad as he used to be, they might let him go or at least make it so it'll be easier for him to have a normal life."

"Are you still planning on asking for an allowance so that the two of you can be married?" Max asked.

"I don't think I'll do that," Lenora shook her head. "Lies will get me nowhere. I'll just talk to the Council members like a reasonable person and I'm sure they'll make the right decision."

"I feel I should warn you that it might not be as easy as you think," Max told her. "The Council members really like the idea of James being in the position that he's in. They aren't going to just let him off the hook."

"I don't see why they shouldn't," she replied, looking out the window at Luke who was torturing prisoners with gusto. "They have Luke here. It's not like there'll be no one to torture offenders against love if they let James go. I think I'll go tell them that they should."

"You seem awfully sure about this," Max observed.

Lenora nodded resolutely. "I am."

Max sighed. "All right. But I'm coming with you and we're telling James before we go."

Lenora groaned. "Why do we have to do that?! I want this to be a surprise for him!"

"I don't think it's a good idea for you to go by yourself," Max told her. "In fact, why don't you and James just go together?"

"Do you realize how stupid I'll feel asking them the stuff I want to ask them if James is standing right next to me?" Lenora asked. "If the only way I can go is if he comes, then I'd rather not go at all!"

"Well, all right," Max told her. "But I think it would do him a lot of good if you did."

They locked eyes for a long moment and then Lenora sighed. "Fine. James can come with me when I go. Are you happy?"

She stomped outside where James was torturing a prisoner and tapped him on the shoulder. "When you're done," she told him, "I have an errand to run on the outside and Max insisted I ask that you come with me."

"All right," James replied, bewitching the knife he was using to stab a man in the heart so that it would do it again and again on its own. "That's handy," Lenora observed with appreciation as the man screamed.

"I know," James grinned. "I've picked up a few tricks over the years." As they walked away from the torture yard, he asked, "and just what is this errand of yours Max is so insistent I come with you to?"

"Oh, I just...I thought I might go to the Council and talk to them about you," Lenora told him. "You know, like I mentioned before. Max said it might be dangerous for me to go on my own."

James nodded. "And he's right. Those vultures are determined to keep me where I am with no reprieve."

"So you've asked before?" Lenora asked. "You've asked to be let out?"

James nodded. "Once. About two-hundred years ago. It didn't work out so well, so I haven't tried to ask again since."

Lenora took his hand. "I'm sorry," she said. "But the Council has new people in it now and maybe they'll be more open-minded."

"I think you're being too optimistic, but what the hell?" James asked. "Why don't we go and give it a try."

* * *

"We demand to see the Council members right now!" Lenora told the receptionist when she and James entered the building.

"Do you have an appointment?" The woman had been filing her nails and looking bored, but when she saw James, her eyes widened and she choked on the gum she'd been chewing.

"Oh, hell," James rolled his eyes and gave the woman the heimlich. "There," he said. "Can we see those bastards now? Lenora has something she would like to say."

"Sure," The receptionist replied, coughing. "Go right ahead."

They strode into the main council chamber and James shot some power toward a window, shattering it, which effectively ended the council members' chatter.

"What is the meaning of you barging in here like this, Black?" Asked a stout man with thinning gray hair. "No one gave you permission to be here!"

"Well," James smirked. "The fact is, I don't really give a damn what you think. I dragged myself to this hellhole because my lady has something she'd like to say to all of you. So shut up and listen."

Lenora cleared her throat. "Thank you, James," she said to him. She looked around at the council members, all of whom were male. "Gentlemen, I came here today to make a request. I would like you to consider letting James, or Mr. Black, if you prefer, out of the punishment that you've placed him in. He's been there long enough, he has someone to take over his duties, and I believe you should let him go."

The men all looked at one another and then the stout one stood up. "No." He said flatly.

"No?" Lenora replied. "How can you say 'no' already? You didn't even think about it!"

"We don't have to," the man replied firmly. "Mr. Black will stay where he is."

"But you can't just keep him there!" Lenora cried.

"Why not?" The man asked. "It better be a damn good reason."

"All right," Lenora told them. "You can't keep him in the position he's in because as you can see, I'm pregnant and he's the father of my child. If you keep him where he is, you're depriving my child of the chance of a decent life. Do you understand that?"

"Yes, we do," another man replied. "And frankly, we don't really care. Furthermore, we can't have one of our most feared torturers wasting his time with children and whores like you."

Lenora and James both opened their mouths to protest this statement, but suddenly, Lenora was propelled into the air, her body surrounded by a circle of green light. She felt it crackle and burn on her skin, and the pain made her scream. "Help!" She cried. "Oh, god, James, _help!_"

James ran up to the man who was controlling the spell and zapped him so he disappeared. The ball of energy disappeared from around Lenora and James ran to catch her before she hit the floor. He held her body firmly against his chest and then turned to face the rest of the Council members.

"Where did he go?" One of them asked.

"That's for me to know and you possibly to find out if you wish," James told him. The men of the Council took this as a challenge and as they each in turn approached and tried to touch Lenora, he zapped them away. Soon, the room was empty.

"Where'd everyone go?" Lenora asked James.

"To a place where they'll learn the consequences of trying to hurt the girl I love," James told her.

"Oh, good," Lenora grinned. "That's great." She shut her eyes, leaned her head against James' shoulder, and he brought her back to the castle.

"Care to explain all the new arrivals?" Max asked.

"They tried to hurt Lenora for making a simple request," James told him. "That upset me. You do the math. And tell Luke to stay away from all of them. I want to handle them personally."

"All right," James nodded. "I'll do that."

* * *

Most of the council members were dealt with speedily except for the one who'd actually gotten away with harming Lenora. She'd recovered from the attack all right and luckily, it hadn't affected the baby.

"What are you planning to do with the guy who hurt me?" Lenora asked. "Aren't you gonna torture him too?"

"Well, actually," James told her as he poured syrup over his pancakes. "I was thinking you might like to do that. You know, since he hurt you and all."

"You mean, you want _me_ to torture him?" Lenora asked. "You'd really trust me to do something like that? How do I do it? What's your method?"

James shrugged. "Usually whatever I feel like doing at the moment. There's no specific punishment."

"So I can do whatever I want," Lenora grinned. "Hmmm...what should I do? By the way, it's my birthday today and this is pretty much one of the most interesting presents I've ever gotten."

"Well, happy birthday," James grinned at her. "I'm glad I could do something for you. Although, I'm intrigued as to why you're so happy about this. Most people would be repulsed."

"Well, I'm not 'most people'," Lenora reminded him. "I have some very accomplished killers in my family tree. One of these days, you'll have to meet them."

"I would love to," James replied.

He left Lenora to her business and when he took a break for lunch, he went to check on her and found her sitting at a table, drinking red liquid from a large mug as the man who'd hurt her dangled above the ground, impaled on a tall stake, blood dripping down and being caught in a pail underneath the body.

"Slow and painful," James observed with appreciation. "I like it."

"I know," Lenora nodded. "And it helps me too. This guy's really got some great blood in him!"

"Is_ that _what that is in the mug?" James asked, peering at it. "You know, sometimes, I forget you're a vampire." He looked at the body again. There were ropes hanging off the sides of the stomach. "What are those for?" James asked.

"Oh," Lenora stood up. "This!" She grabbed hold of one of the ropes and pulled, which wrenched the man's body and he let out a yell as blood leaked onto his middle. She then grabbed a knife and made some slashes in his sides, causing more blood to leak into the pail. He let out a yell and Lenora licked her lips and looked down at the pail. "This one is almost full," she observed. "You think I could get another one somewhere?"

"Probably," James nodded. "But this guy looks like he could use a break. Why don't you let him replenish his blood supply and come to bed with me?"

"Okay," Lenora nodded. He picked her up and carried her to the castle, and they kissed all the way to their room. He undressed her and then himself very quickly before lifting her onto the bed. He kissed her breasts and then her stomach and she squirmed. "I didn't think my torturing someone would get you so hot," Lenora said.

"Oh, _really_?" James asked. "Well, if this is what I'm like when you hurt him, imagine what I'll be like when he's dead. I won't let you out of this room for a week!" Lenora laughed and screamed as she came, clutching to him tightly, reveling in how good it felt to have his hands on her body. _Nothing_ would ever feel as good as that.

* * *

Selina opened her eyes after finishing her nap a few days later and looked at the clock, her eyes wide. "Oh, fuck!" she muttered under her breath. "I overslept! Now who's gonna pick the kids up from school?" She got up, grabbed her purse and went out to grab her coat. As she was putting it on, Elijah appeared. "What are you doing?" He asked. "I thought you were supposed to be napping."

"I_ was _napping," Selina replied. "But then I woke up, and it's a good thing, too, because I'm late picking the kids up from school and I don't want them just sitting out there all alone."

"Go back to bed," Elijah told her. "Someone is already bringing the children home from school. You don't have to worry."

"Who is it?" Selina asked. "It can't be Alistair. He's visiting friends today."

"Well," Elijah replied, "actually, I've asked Katerina to-"

"Katherine?!" Selina burst out. "_Katherine_ is going near my children? Uh-uh, nope, sorry, I don't think. so. I'm going to take my car, and go to that school and just maybe I can pick them up before she gets there!"

But at that moment, the door opened. "Hello!" Katherine called out. "We're home!"

She came in with Gregory holding her hand, even though he was much too old to need to.

"What the hell are you doing?" Selina asked her son.

"I was, um..." He dropped his hand from Katherine's. "She had to park far away from the house so that you wouldn't see the car and I just wanted to make sure she was safe," Gregory explained. "You can't be too careful."

"Of all the-" Selina put a hand to her forehead. "I don't get this," she told him. "I really don't. You've always been the sensible one. You didn't even playing peekaboo when you were a baby cause whenever I tried to do so, you'd look at me like I was making you do the dumbest thing in the world! And now-now you've chosen to start acting stupid because of _this_?" She gestured wildly at Katherine.

"I'm gonna go do my homework now," Gregory told her quickly. "Thanks for picking us up, Katherine." The other two kids followed his lead, leaving Katherine, Elijah and Selina alone in the living room.

"Let me explain," Elijah told Selina. "I only asked this of Katerina because I thought it would make it easier for you. You won't be able to drive much longer. You probably shouldn't even be doing it now."

"So you went behind my back and you hired your ex who fucked up my life in the worst way possible and thought it would be a good idea not to mention it to me?!" Selina raged. "She's got you acting as screwy as Gregory!"

"I assure you she hasn't," Elijah said firmly. "You're allowing yourself to become overwrought and it's not good for you. Now please, dear. Go back to bed. And by the way," He told her, "I wouldn't have had to reacquaint myself with her if you had not been so selfish as to get in my brother's bed while you were still married to _me_. It was your own actions that brought Katerina back into my life, so even though I love you more than I can say, she will be here too, and I don't want to hear a word of complaint about it from you, because honestly, you have no right. Not now, not ever." He strode off, leaving Katherine smirking.

"Wow," she said. "That was awkward."

"Oh, shut up!" Selina snapped.

"It's kind of sad you're so insecure," Katherine told her. "If I was with Elijah, I wouldn't be."

Selina scoffed. "Yeah, well it's real easy for someone who constantly victimizes people to not know what it feels like to be insecure!"

"Come on now," Katherine said to her. "It's not like _you_ never victimized people. I remember your Lonely Heart days. How scared everyone was. Of course, I didn't know that it was actually you at the time, but if I _had_ known, I would have been impressed."

"Great," Selina sighed. "Praise from a self-absorbed lunatic bitch. Just the feather I've always wanted in my cap."

"Those who live in glass houses..." Katherine began.

"No," Selina shook her head. "I don't live in a glass house anymore. Cause I've grew up and you haven't. There might have been a point in my life where I thought the best way to be was to treat people like shit, but I don't believe that anymore. And you said you feel sorry that I'm insecure. Well, I have to thank you for curing me of it. Just talking to you has made me realize that I have more going for me in my life than you ever will and that's something I'm grateful for. Thanks for bringing my kids home. I appreciate it. But now that you've done what you've been hired to do, you can go on your way now. See you tomorrow."


	26. Front Page News

"I have a question," Lenora asked James as the two of them prepared for bed that night.

"What is it?" James asked.

"You know when we were at the council building, and you wanted to punish those guys for hurting me, why did you tell them that you loved me? Did you mean that?"

"Oh," James replied. "Actually, I just said that so I could justify punishing them as harshly as they deserved to be punished. That's what you _thought _I meant when I said it, right?"

"Well, yeah," Lenora nodded. "Of course. Your reasoning makes perfect sense. We don't need to complicate things now by saying that we're in love with each other." She paused. "I mean, it's entirely possible that one day we could reach a point where we _did_ say that, but it doesn't have to be now. There's no reason to rush it. I'm happy with things just the way they are."

She got in bed next to him and put the covers over herself, yawning widely.

"I guess you're too sleepy to have fun tonight," James told her.

"Yeah," Lenora nodded. "I'm sorry. But this kid of ours is sucking the life out of me."

* * *

The next day, the phone rang during breakfast. "I'll get it." He picked up the phone and listened to the person on the other end of the line for a few minutes, then put the phone on his shoulder. "It's Astrid," he told Lenora. "She wants to talk to you."

"About what?" Lenora asked, getting up. "I don't think there's anything left to berate me for." She took the phone and put it to her ear. "Hi, Grandma," she greeted. "What's up?"

"Well, I got my job back at the Council," Astrid told her. "They really had no choice, seeing as how I was the only member who wasn't dead."

"And you want to berate me about keeping hold on my temper and not killing people," Lenora assumed. "Well, it was _not_ my fault! They were torturing _me_! It was James who-Oh, that's not what you're calling about? Okay, what is it, then?"

"A reporter for the witch paper wants to do an article on why you two did what you did to the council," Astrid told her. "Is that okay?"

Lenora felt her jaw drop a little. "You mean someone voluntarily wants to come here and talk to us?" She asked. "Well, I'll just see if it will be okay." She put the phone down and looked at James. "Grandma says that some reporter wants to talk to us about what you did to the guys in the council. Are you up for that?"

James smirked. "Why the hell not? If this person thinks they're brave enough to venture here, then let them. It should be very amusing to have them around."

A few days later, the reporter came and it was James who answered the door. At the sight of him, the man dropped his notepad and camera as he fell on the front step in a faint.

"It seems like my reputation precedes me," James remarked dryly as Lenora came to join him at the door. She grinned. "I thought this was gonna happen. I don't see how he's gonna get his article written if he can't even get in the house. I don't see why he's _that_ scared of you. You're not so bad."

"Shhh!" James remonstrated. "We don't want that getting around! I _like_ being feared and if it gets out that I have a soft side for anyone, my entire mystique could be destroyed."

Lenora sighed. "Fine," she replied. "I'll tell him that you're terrible, and wicked and that my life is a living hell."

He grinned, took her in his arms and kissed her cheek. "You're an angel."

"I'll go get Max so the two of you can drag this lump inside," Lenora told him. She left and Max appeared a few minutes later. They grabbed the reporter's body and put him in one of the chairs in the parlor before splashing water on his face to rouse him.

"Are you all right?" Max asked. "You took a bit of a spill out there."

But the man didn't hear. Instead, he kept his eyes locked on James. "You're Mr. Black," he said in a tone of wonder.

"Yep," James nodded. "I am. So, what is this little story of yours supposed to be about anyway?"

"Just-just-just about what happened at the Council," the man stuttered. "I'm only here because I was ordered to be by my boss. I hope I'm not irritating you. Please don't hurt me!"

"Okay," Lenora told him. "Take a deep breath. You're perfectly safe. Can I get you a drink?"

The man locked eyes on her. "You're a woman!" He exclaimed. "Surely _you've_ not done anything worthy of being here! When I get done with this, I'll tell people at the Council and they'll come and set you free!"

"How nice that you think so well of me," Lenora told him. "But I admit I did something that got me here for a perfectly justifiable reason. My grandmother is the head of the council and she knows I'm here, so that wouldn't be a good route to go."

"You're little Lenora!" The man cried, recognition dawning. "I remember when she used to bring you to work with her!"

"Well, I've grown up since then," Lenora told him. "Things happened and here I am."

"Are you-are you _pregnant?_" The man's eyes were wide now. He took a note pad out of his bag and began scribbling on it.

"What are you writing?" Lenora asked him. "If you think you'll get a story out of me being pregnant, I don't see why. It happens to women all the time."

"Yes, but never before has Mr. Black been the father," the man said. "He _is_ the father, isn't he?"

"Never mind!" James snapped, pulling him up by his collar. "Come outside with me and I'll show you something _really_ exciting. Much more exciting than this ridiculous pregnancy business." When he was out of the castle and into the yard, James turned and gave Lenora a sour look. "That's it," he spat. "I'm ruined."

* * *

"Well, well, well," Alistair said as he came into the kitchen one morning while Klaus and Felicity were eating. Stefan had already gone out. He strode over to Klaus and plunked a paper down in front of him. "Read the front page," he said. "I think you'll be impressed."

"That's the witch paper," Klaus told him. "What could possibly interest me in the witch paper?"

"I told you," Alistair repeated. "Read the front page."

Klaus sighed, picked up the paper, turned it to the page that Alistair had indicated and began reading. "Wait," he said after a few seconds. "Lenora? You mean like our granddaughter Lenora?"

"I'm afraid so," Alistair nodded. "I don't know how common a name Lenora is, but I shouldn't think there'd be that many out there."

"It says here she 'slowly and brutally tortured several council members who had previously victimized her for her association with the villain James Black'." He shut the paper and grinned. "Now _there's_ a girl I'm proud to call my relative."

Alistair nodded. "I figured you'd be happy about it," he told Klaus. "That's why I showed it to you."

"You don't seem to be," Klaus remarked. "What's the problem?"

"What's the problem?" Alistair asked. "There are so many I can't even begin to list them. Most importantly, Lenora is killing people now. That's not something she should be encouraged to do!"

"Oh, lighten up, Alistair!" Klaus replied. "She's already with that Black chap who I understand is bad news. I think you're worrying too much, mate. How much worse could it get?"

Alistair collapsed in a chair, running his hand through his dark hair. "Don't ask that, Klaus," he said. "_Please_ don't ask that."

* * *

"I'm sorry about the way I acted about Katherine," Selina told Elijah when she finally got up the nerve. "And you know why I acted that way, so I won't go into it, but I promise to do a better job of controlling myself in the future."

Elijah nodded. "Thank you," he told her. "Remember, you have nothing to worry about when it comes to her, at least not any more. How many times do I have to say 'I love_ you' _before this insecurity of yours goes away?"

" I swear I don't have insecurities about us anymore," Selina promised him. "Talking to Katherine made me realize how lucky I am to have you and that nothing will ever chance that. Any other secret things I need to know about besides the fact that Katherine is gonna be around for awhile?"

"No," Elijah shook his head. "None that I can think of."

"Well, good," Selina told him. Just then, her phone rang. "It's Anna," she said. "I should probably go visit her. I haven't done that in awhile."

"That's a good idea," Elijah told her. "You go and enjoy yourself. And tell Anna 'Hello' from me."

* * *

Klaus knocked on Felicity's bedroom door. "Pet?" He called. "Can I come in?"

"Just a minute!" Felicity called. A few seconds later, she spoke again. "Okay!" She said. "Come in!"

Klaus came into the room and nearly fell over. Stefan had long, curly pink hair and a sour expression on his face.

"Oh, my god!" Klaus laughed. "What are you letting her do to you, Stefan?"

"It's difficult to go up against a determined witch," Stefan replied sourly. "_Believe me_, I tried."

"I don't know what you're so upset about," Felicity told him, running her fingers through his hair. "You look very pretty."

"Men aren't supposed to look pretty!" Stefan growled. "Get that through your head! And fix me already! I've been humiliated enough!"

"Oh, it's not that bad," Klaus told him. "Stop being so over dramatic, Stefan."

"Easy for you to say!" Stefan told him. "I'd like to see you take some of her magical torture on yourself! She's _your_ relative, not mine!"

"Oh, I've offered," Klaus told him. "Repeatedly. But she seems to be more interested in you and there's not much I can do about that."

"I know what I'll do!" Stefan proclaimed. "I'll tell Anna about her and then Anna will get so mad that she'll forbid me to come here ever again!"

"I thought you've been avoiding my sister because of her desire for children that you don't share," Klaus told him. "That and the fact that you can't have any yourself."

Stefan gestured wildly at Felicity. "And yet, I've become your babysitter anyway, so my feelings about children are pretty much moot now, aren't they?"

* * *

"How have you been doing?" Selina asked Anna. "Okay?"

"Yeah," Anna nodded. "I've tried dating a few people, but nothing's really worked out. Stefan's not upset about this. Is he?"

"Sorry," Selina told her. "I haven't seen him lately, so I wouldn't know."

Just then, Anna's phone beeped. She looked down and burst out laughing.

"What is it?" Selina asked. "Care to share with me?"

Anna wiped tears from her eyes and showed Selina the picture of Stefan, Felicity, and Stefan's new hairdo.

"Would it be wrong of me to say I find this hilarious?" Anna asked when she could get a breath.

"No," Selina shook her head. "I don't think so. But I _do_ feel sorry for Stefan 'cause he has to be subjected to Felicity's whims like that. I bet Klaus didn't do anything to stop it."

Anna grinned. "He's probably the one that took the picture." Then she sighed. "Needless to say, he's probably not very happy with me right now."

"That isn't your fault!" Selina told her. "So you want a family. There's nothing wrong with that."

"Exactly!" Anna told her. "I don't think I'm wrong for wanting a family. I just don't think I expressed it the right way."

"Were you blunt?" Selina asked. "Did you say, 'I want to get divorced so I can have a family'?"

"Of course not!" Anna replied. "I was more subtle than that. All I said was that I wanted to have kids and I haven't seen him since. I guess he put two and two together." She shrugged, reading out to put her hand on Selina's ever-expanding stomach. "Is it as nice as I think it is, or do you think I'm romanticizing it?"

"Well, let's put it this way," Selina replied. "At this point, I'm torn. I feel like a giant beach ball has attached itself to my stomach, everything hurts, I'm always tired and I have to pee every five minutes. But in order to relieve all that, the babies have to come out of me, and then I won't get any sleep because there will be three screaming babies needing every second of my time. I won't have a moment's peace for who knows _how_ long? So you might be romanticizing it a little, but if you want to give motherhood a test run a little while down the road, I'd be glad to share one of my many children with you."

"Well, thanks," Anna told her. "Cause at this point, Stefan seems to have had more practice than me and I need to catch up."

Selina grinned. "And I bet he is _enjoying_ his practice just as much as you will. Oh, and before I forget to mention it, Elijah wanted me to tell you 'Hi'."

* * *

"Mommy," Colin asked Selina the next day. "Would it be all right if I brought a friend over to play?"

"Sure," Selina nodded. "If it's all right with their parents, you can bring someone over. I don't mind."

"Okay!" Colin nodded. A few days later, he and his friend showed up at the house. To Selina's surprise, his friend was a girl, not a boy, like she'd expected. "Mommy," Colin announced. "This is Valerie. Valerie, this is my mommy."

"Hi," Valerie replied shyly. She was a pretty girl with big brown eyes and dark hair up in pigtails. "Nice to meet you."

Selina smiled. "Nice to meet you too, Valerie," she replied. "Do the two of you want some cookies?"

"I do!" Colin answered. He looked at Valerie. "My mommy makes really good cookies. She has a bakery and everything."

"What bakery?" Valerie asked, sitting in a chair. "What is it called?"

"Sweet Emotions," Selina replied. "I've had it for awhile now."

"Are you gonna have a baby?" Valerie asked.

"Actually," Selina grinned. "I'm gonna have three." She plunked a plate of cookies down in front of the kids and Valerie looked at her, brown eyes wide. "You're going to have three at the same _time_? How do you _do_ that?"

"Slowly and painfully," Selina replied. "But it's not like this is my first kid, so I'll get through it." She sat down. "How did the two of you become friends?" She asked.

"She helps me with reading sometimes," Colin replied. "She's really good at it."

"I like books," Valerie told Selina. "A lot."

"Well, that's wonderful!" Selina replied. "I like reading myself."

"These are good cookies," the little girl remarked.

"Well, aren't you sweet?" Selina asked. "Thank you."

They finished their cookies and then Colin and Valerie left to play for awhile. After her mother took Valerie home, Colin sat down next to Selina on the sofa. "So how do you like Valerie?" He asked. "Do you think she's nice?"

"Yeah," Selina nodded. "I do. I think she's a very nice girl. Although if my mother knew I let you play with her and gave her cookies, she wouldn't be too happy with me."

"Why not?" Colin asked.

"Because, when I was a human, a _long_ time ago, people like Valerie, whose skin is dark, weren't really considered people," Selina explained.

"Why not?" Colin asked.

"Because rich men in this area of the country had big farms which they were too lazy to work themselves, so they hired black men and women to do it for them. Children too."

"But that's so _bad_!" Colin cried. "Don't you think that's bad?"

"Of course I do!" Selina told him. "That's why I like doing things by myself now and have to really be convinced in order to let someone wait on me. I had a black nanny named Bess growing up, and I was a lot closer to her than I was my own mother. The only time I saw Mama was when she was drilling pathetic rules into my head."

"You mean like not being nice to black people," Colin said.

"Yep," Selina replied. "Like not being nice to black people. Or rather, black _slaves_. It wouldn't have been accurate to call them people, because as far as most plantation owners were concerned, they weren't. I never believed that myself, but I couldn't have done much to stop it at the time, even though I wanted to."

"Why not?" Colin asked.

"Because I was a girl," Selina told him. "People have always thought that boys were smarter than girls and that girls couldn't do much of anything except get married and have babies."

"That's silly!" Colin replied. "You're the boss at the bakery and Valerie is better at reading then me. Girls can be smart too!"

"Can I hug you right now?" Selina asked, taking Colin in her arms and hugging him as much as she could. "I really need to hug you right now. Finally, someone gets that." She let him go. "Whoever you decide to be with is gonna be lucky to have you, Colin."

Colin grinned. "Thank you, Mommy."

* * *

"So did you meet Colin's little friend?" Elijah asked Selina that night as he rubbed her back.

"Yeah," Selina told him. "I met her. She's nice. I think she'll be a good influence on him. Apparently, she _likes_ doing schoolwork."

"And Colin doesn't?" Elijah stiffened. "Is he being lazy? Am I going to have to have a talk with him?"

"I didn't say he was being lazy," Selina replied. "I just-I think it's a good idea for Colin to have someone in his life who can show him that learning can be a positive experience, rather than something that's mindless and boring. He's not like you and Gregory. He didn't take to books like a fish to water. But I'm sure he'll put effort into his schoolwork just the same."

Elijah nodded. "I should hope so. He's my son and I wouldn't expect any less from him."

"Just be careful though," Selina warned. "It's good to have expectations for people, but if you push them too hard and expect them to live up to _your_ standards more than their own, it could be problematic, and you don't want to have the sort of relationship with our kids that your father has with you, do you?"

"No," Elijah sighed. "I wouldn't put any of my children through that."

"That's good," Selina replied, sinking back on her pillow and shutting her eyes. "I'm gonna try and go to sleep now, all right?"

"All right," Elijah told her. "Good night, darling."


	27. No Place Like Home

"I can't believe you're dragging me here," James told Lenora as the two of them trudged up the walk to Damon and Lucy's. "Isn't it bad enough that stupid article made me out to be some sort of softie? Did I_ really _have to meet more of your relatives on top of it?"

"This was necessary," Lenora told him. "Grandpa told Aunt Lucy about my being pregnant and in order for her NOT to have a coronary, I have to calm her down, okay?"

"I am NOT happy about this," James answered. "All your relatives hate me. Not a single nice word from any of them that I've met so far."

"Well, once you meet my grandfather, he'll like you," Lenora assured James. "Apparently when Grandpa Alistair told Grandpa Klaus about what you and I did to all those guys, he was over the moon about it."

"Oh, well, I suppose that's something," James replied. "Why can't we just meet him now? Why do we have to go through all this?"

"Because we just do!" Lenora told him. "And you have the cat, right?"

Grudgingly, James held up the cage. "Yes," he nodded. "It's right here." He sneezed. "I'll be glad to finally get him out of the castle. A baby's gonna be difficult enough without adding an animal to the list of things we have to take care of." They reached the door and before Lenora reached out to knock, she gave James a severe look. "Please behave yourself," She requested. "Aunt Lucy is one of the relatives of mine that I actually like and I don't want to drive her away any more than I already have. Do you think you can do that for me?"

"Yes," James sighed and rolled his eyes. "I suppose I can. But what does that _mean_?"

"It means no touching me, no looking at me suggestively, _nothing _that would remind Aunt Lucy we did what we did."

"Oh, yes," James nodded. "I'll try my best to keep our relationship under the rug. It's not like that stomach of yours will give anything away."

Lenora narrowed her eyes at James and then turned around to knock on the door. "Hello?" She called. "Anyone home?"

"Lenora?" Lucy called back. "Have you come home? Did you decide to get away from that horrible-" She cut herself off as she opened the door and saw James. "Oh," she shook her head. "Never mind." Then, her eyes widened as they locked on Lenora. "What in the world has happened to you? Well, I know because I heard it from the cat, but I thought it was a lie!"

"No," Lenora shook her head and gave an awkward grin. "It's not. I'm really pregnant. Can we come inside, please?"

"Oh, sure," Lucy nodded. "Come in. If you'll excuse me, I have to go lie down. I feel a little faint."

"Hey," Damon said as she made her way to the bedroom. "Who was at the door?"

"Someone she didn't like, obviously," Sam added, eying his sister keenly. "What's the matter, _Cookie Monster_? You look sick."

"I'm fine, thanks," Lucy replied, giving Sam a push. "I just need to lie down. Lenora's in the living room if you want to say 'Hello', Damon."

Both Sam and Damon watched her go. "I wonder what horrible thing is out there," Sam remarked. "Do you think we should go look?"

"It's probably not as bad as she's making it out to be," Damon replied. They went into the living room and saw James and Lenora sitting on the sofa. When she saw them, Lenora rose and strode over to Damon. "Is Aunt Lucy all right?" She asked. "I came to tell her about my pregnancy, but I might have gone about it the wrong way."

"It's okay," Damon assured her. "I'll calm her down. So...you're pregnant. That's...nice."

"Yeah," Lenora replied, gesturing at James. "And this is the father."

James refused to get up until Lenora snapped at him, "Will you _relax_? This is Damon. He's one of the ones who will actually like you, so be nice to him!"

James scoffed. "Fine," he replied, eying Damon with caution. "I'm James. Back where we live, people feared me. Or at least they _used_ to."

"You don't _know_ people's position on you has changed," Lenora pointed out. "The article might not have done a thing. People could still be as terrified of you as they always were."

Damon's eyes widened a little. "Can I ask what it is that you _do_ back where you live?"

"Oh, it's nothing special," James told him. "It's just my job to torture miscreants who make a mockery of love."

"So you're really like a hippie who's _for_ love, and you hate everyone who's against it?" Sam asked.

"No," James shook his head. "I was a bit of a bounder in my young life and when I finally got the nerve to marry, the wench cheated on me. It made me a bit upset so I killed her and all her lovers, and that upset the Council and they put me in a dimension away from everyone else and they send me people that commit the same sort of crimes I did so I can punish them."

"And just what is it that _you_ did to wind up in his neck of the woods, Lenora?" Damon asked curiously.

"Interesting story, actually," Lenora replied with a grin. "He was gonna take in my aunt Anna for something that she did, even though as a vampire she's not technically under witch rule. I made a deal with him to spare her and he got sneaky and used underhanded tactics to make me kill a guy I liked and the girl he liked better, thus I was eligible to be taken away by him. But the funny thing was, the guy? He wasn't even real! James snooped around and found out everything about me, and then made up this fake guy to cozy up to me and then break my heart, _knowing_ that I would get so pissed off that I would kill him!"

"Hey!" Jame cried. "Be reasonable! I didn't know for _certain_ that you were gonna commit the murders you did. I only _hoped_ you would, and fortunately, all my work didn't get done for nothing." He stared at Damon in silence for a moment before saying, "Okay, let it out."

"Let _what_ out?" Damon asked.

"All the nasty stuff you're thinking about me for what I've done to your girl here!" James exclaimed, gesturing at Lenora. "I've heard it all already from the others, so I can take it."

"I'm not gonna say anything," Damon promised. "There's nothing to say. Who among us hasn't done bad things to get the person they have their eye on? I know I have."

"Oh, you misunderstand," James told him. "I didn't do what I did because I wanted Lenora all to myself. That's ridiculous talk!"

"It's not really," Lenora's eyes narrowed. "And if you're gonna ta;l that way, you can go home alone and I'll stay here."

Damon looked back and forth between them. "Do you want us to leave so you two can talk by yourselves?"

"No, that's not necessary," James told him. "But make sure you hide all your breakables because when she's in a mood like this and she finds them, they're as good as broken. You got something to drink?"

As Lenora's jaw dropped, Damon stood up. "Sure," he replied. "What do you want? Beer?"

"Why not?" James nodded. "I've not had any for awhile, but I'll give it a shot."

Damon nodded and came back with a bottle for James and a bottle for himself.

"I think that while the two of you bond," Lenora said to the two of them, "I'm gonna go talk to Aunt Lucy."

"Be gentle with her," Damon warned. "If she's in her studio, she might not even let you come in."

"Oh, I'm sure she will," Lenora told him. "All I have to do is be polite about it. And not forget to knock." She walked down a few hallways, finally coming to her aunt's studio and giving the door two sharp raps with her knuckles. "Aunt Lucy?" She called. "Can I come in there? I think we should talk."

After a few seconds of silence, Lucy called out, "All right. Come in."

Lenora cautiously entered the studio and sat down in a chair that Lucy offered her. "Are you gonna be all right?" She asked her aunt. "James and I can go, if you won't be. I didn't come here to irritate you, or agitate you. I just wanted to let you hear, from my own mouth, how my life was going. Was it a mistake?"

"No, no, no!" Lucy told her quickly. "Of _course_ it wasn't a mistake. I'm glad to see you. It's just...seeing you pregnant takes a lot of getting used to is all."

"And you don't like James," Lenora finished knowingly. "He's really not as bad as you think."

"How can you live with him?" Lucy burst out. "Is his house habitable at the very least? How do the two of you expect to raise your child? What is the place where you're living like?"

Lenora opened her mouth to respond, but then shut it almost immediately, realizing she couldn't give her aunt a satisfactory answer. "I really couldn't tell you _what_ the place we live in is like, honestly," she confessed at last. "I mean, I know what the castle is like, and the field where James and occasionally I torture people is like, but other than the castle and the field, there's nothing, at least nothing that I know of."

"You can't keep a child in isolation!" Lucy told her. "How do you expect them to grow up normally?"

"I was thinking of talking to James about that," Lenora told her. "Seeing if he'd be willing to leave the castle for awhile, at least until our son has had time to make friends and have some semblance of a normal life. Do you think I should do that?"

"Yeah," Lucy replied. "I really think you should." They spent time talking to one another and when she went back to the living room, she found James, Damon and Sam laughing over some witticism that one of them had said.

Lenora cleared her throat and James turned, a grin on his face. "Oh, hello, darling! We've just been having an amusing time while you've been gone. If you came in here to tell me you want to go, I'll be _very_ disappointed."

"Well, actually," Lenora told him, "that could very well be avoided, to an extent. I was talking with Aunt Lucy and she pointed out that there's not much for a kid to do where we live. There are no activities, no other children, and she suggested that it might be better if we moved somewhere else before we had the kid. Somewhere where more people are so that our son will be more sociable."

"You mean leave the castle?" James asked. "I don't know what the Council will say to that. They might not like me missing work."

"My grandmother's the boss, remember?" Lenora reminded him. "And with Luke there, and as adept as he is, I'm sure she wouldn't mind us taking some time off. So what do you think?"

James nodded. "Why not?" He asked. "It'll give me more opportunity to spend time with these chaps, and admittedly, I haven't had a break in _years_. It's the perfect excuse. And after I have the break, I can commute using the council building."

"Great!" Lenora replied brightly. "I guess we can start house-hunting tomorrow. And we can't forget to tell Max, in case he wants to come with us."

"Of course he'll come with us," James told her. "I can't imagine doing anything without Max."

* * *

They were not the only ones dealing with a new house. Selina and Elijah had also recently bought one and were getting things ready for the babies to come. "I think we should put them in separate rooms," Selina suggested. "If we put them all in the same room, they'll work each other up day and night and we'll never get any sleep."

"Whatever you want," Elijah told her. "I think either way would be all right."

"And to add onto the subject," Selina continued, "do you want to come with me to my appointment?" Selina asked Elijah. "I'm gonna find out what the sexes of our babies will be. I know you don't like going to Enid's, but I thought I'd ask just in case."

"Of course I'll come," Elijah told her. "I just don't understand why you can't go to a normal doctor like every other woman."

"Enid is so much more qualified than any other doctor!" Selina told him. "She used to be a fertility goddess for crying out loud! She knows what she's doing!"

Reluctantly, Elijah followed her out to the car, they drove to Enid's and as Selina stepped out upon their arrival, she turned, seeing Elijah's hands still tightly clutching the wheel.

"You're going to get out, aren't you?" Selina asked.

"Do you think it's safe to leave my car around here unattended?" Elijah asked.

"Just come on!" Selina cried in exasperation. "Please! If someone steals your car, we can get you a new one." Stroking the hood longingly, Elijah left his car parked in the street and followed Selina into the bar. "Hi, Enid!" she greeted her friend. "We're here for my appointment."

Enid gave Elijah a look. "I figured you would be," she said. "No other reason for him to be here, right?" She put her hands on Selina's stomach and shut her eyes. "Two girls and a boy," she got out. "Now that you know, you can traipse on back to your car and go back to a place that you think is safer."

"No!" Selina exclaimed. "He doesn't think that!" She nudged Elijah who was trying his best not to look uncomfortable. "Do you, sweetie?"

"No," Elijah said through his teeth. "I certainly don't."

"Why don't you sit down and have a drink?" Enid offered.

"I don't know if I should," Elijah replied. "Between the two of us, I'm the only one who can drive, and-"

"He'd be glad to have something," Selina interrupted, nudging Elijah in the direction of a bar stool. "What will you have, sweetie?"

"I'll leave that up to you," Elijah told Enid. "Give me what you think I should have."

"Well," Enid replied with a grin as Roxie came out of the back. "Your uncle's being brave. He just told me I could give him whatever I wanted."

"Be kind," Roxie replied with an evil glint in her eye. "You know he doesn't hold his liquor well."

"I can too!" Elijah cried, standing up. "I can drink just as much as any other person in this bar!"

"Prove it and I'll drive you and Mom home," Roxie told him. "By the way, what are the two of you having?"

"Two girls and a boy," Selina told her. "That should get his father off my back for awhile." She paused. "So how's your dad? Have you seen him lately?"

"Yeah," Roxie nodded. "He's fine. Still doting over Felicity like Adrian and Helene are never gonna come back, and who knows? Maybe they won't. Maybe it's better this way."

"Are you mad at your dad and me for splitting up again?" Selina asked her.

"No," Roxie shook her head and sighed. "Not anymore. I mean, I can't deny that I like it when the two of you are together, but if it doesn't work, it doesn't work."

"Good," Selina nodded. "I'm so glad." Then she immediately stopped talking as the entire bar paused to watch Elijah consume drink after drink. When he finally stopped and tried to stand up, he fell flat on his face.

"Oh, no, don't get up yet!" Roxie giggled, taking out her phone. "I want to get a picture of this priceless moment so Dad can see what he's missing out on."

"True, he doesn't come around here much anymore," Enid agreed. "But if it's because he's making himself respectable, then I'm okay with that."

After helping Elijah up off the floor, Selina and Roxie helped him to his car. "You know, you didn't really have to drink that much," Roxie told him. "We were just joking with you so you'd feel more at ease."

"Don't try to talk down to me, Roxanne!" Elijah told her. "I _said_ I could hold my liquor just as well as any other person in that bar and damn it, I think I proved it today!"

"Yeah," Roxie nodded. "You did great." They reached the car and she helped Elijah into the backseat. Then, she got in the front and giggled as she listened to her uncle awkwardly try to hit on her mom all the way home, and she almost crashed when he puked all over her mom's dress. It was good for him to be like this once in awhile, Roxie decided. And with three kids coming, this could be his last chance for who knew how long.

* * *

"You came!" Gregory cried when he saw Katherine sitting on a bench outside of his last class of the day a few days later.

"Of course I came," Katherine told him. "Bringing you back from school is what your father wants me to do."

She took his hand and as they headed to Laura's classroom, Gregory narrowed his eyes at the shocked looks of the people who were watching them. "Mind your own business!" He yelled. "And don't you go staring at her. It's not nice!" When everyone averted their gazes, Gregory cleared his throat. "I'm sorry," he said to her. "Some people just have no manners."

"Oh, that's okay," Katherine told him. "I'm strong. I can handle it. Now, I can never remember where Laura's classroom is."

"I'll take you there," Gregory replied. They found Laura's room and waited. As she came out, she glared at them. "Let's just get Colin and go home," she said.

"Nice to see you too," Katherine replied. But Laura acted as if she didn't hear a thing.

"I'm sure she meant to say 'Hello'," Gregory assured Katherine. "She's just not in a very polite state of mind today."

"It's all right," Katherine told him. "It's sweet of you to worry about me, but you don't really need to. I can take care of myself."

"Dad says that I have to take care of girls because I'm a boy," Gregory told her. "At least that's what he does with mom and they get along pretty well."

"Mom doesn't _really_ need Daddy to take care of her," Laura informed Gregory. "She just lets him do it because it makes him happy."

"What do _you_ know?" Gregory spat. "You're making stuff up!"

"What are you so worked up about?" Katherine asked him.

Gregory shrugged. "I just think that men should take care of the women they like, that's all. By the way," he said, taking a single pink rose out of his bag. "I got this for you. It's from a bouquet Dad bought Mom. Do you like it?"

Katherine took the flower and smiled at him, ruffling his hair. "Well, aren't you sweet?" She told him. "It's lovely."

Laura rolled her eyes again, then the three of them, along with Colin, hurried out to Katherine's car and drove home.

* * *

"What kept you?" asked the man who was waiting for Katherine at the table in the restaurant. "I've been waiting for almost half an hour!"

"Sorry about that," She told him, sitting next to him at the table. "I was bringing my ex's kids home from school and the eldest has developed a crush on me. It's really inconvenient trying to be polite when all I want to do is tell him that I don't like him that way and I never will. It takes _forever_ to get away from him!"

"But you must've managed it," her date replied. "Cause here you are."

"Yes," Katherine grinned. "Here I am." She dropped her napkin on the floor and bent down to pick it up.

"Oh, don't," her date replied. "I can get it for you." As they were both leaning down, Katherine hissed and she dragged the man under the table, ordering him to silence before drinking a great deal from him. Then ran her fingers over his cheek. "Yes, the boy is annoying because he's of no use to me. You, however, have been incredibly useful. You're exactly the sort of man I need right now. It's a shame the kid's too young to understand that."

She then sat back in her seat as a server approached. "Are you all right, Miss?" He asked her. "I noticed you've kind of been hunched over for a bit."

"It's nothing," she told him. "I get dizzy spells sometimes, but I'm better now." She gave the man's body a small kick.

"Well, glad to hear you're better," he said. "Can I get you anything?"

"Yes," Katherine nodded. "I'll have some red wine, please. And the chicken Parmesan."

After she ate, she compelled the waiter to forget her, then left the restaurant, giggling as she thought about the look on the waitstaff's faces when they found the body under the table.


	28. Henry

"Explain to me why we're moving again, please?" Max asked James. "I thought things were all right here. If it's about the condition of the castle, all I have to do is call Astrid and she'll fix up anything you want!"

"It's not about the castle, Max," James told him. "Apparently, it's about this whole damn place. One visit to Lenora's relatives on the outside and suddenly, this humble dimension's not enough for her anymore."

"It's not about me!" Lenora told him, looking disapproving. "It's about making a better life for our son, who's going to be born very soon. I just want him to start out the right way."

"Why can't you act like a normal pregnant teenager and be chronically irresponsible?" James asked irritably. "Why do you have to be so on top of things?"

"Because _someone_ has to be," Lenora told him. "And it obviously wouldn't be you. Now, Aunt Lucy is gonna show us some really nice properties down where she and Damon live. That's a good idea, don't you think?"

"You are _lucky _that Damon lives in that house too, because if it was just your Aunt Lucy, who is a harsh, judgmental person, I wouldn't want to go," James told her.

"Oh, Aunt Lucy's not that bad," Lenora told him. "She's a genius, you know, and geniuses are always peculiar." She paused. "You know, maybe if you talked to her, you would find that she's not so bad."

James scoffed. "I could try," he told her. "But I doubt your perfect aunt would let me near her. She made it clear that she doesn't think I'm good for you."

"And why the hell do you think that matters?" Lenora asked. "Do you think that just because Aunt Lucy has a negative opinion of you that I suddenly will too, just to make her happy? I'm not gonna do that, James. You're good company and I think my life would be really empty if you weren't in it. So stop worrying about Aunt Lucy, please? I'm sure that Damon will help her come around."

* * *

"You could have been nicer," Damon told Lucy.

"Nicer to whom? The guy who impregnated Lenora?" Lucy asked. "Why should I be?"

"It would be one thing if she was upset about it, but she seems all right," Damon replied. "What if being with James is what makes her happy? Do you really want to risk ruining your relationship with her because you're being stubborn?"

"I think she deserves better than him," Lucy told him. "Someone smart and understanding and responsible. That's what she deserves. Not some loser who kills people for fun."

"I was like James once," Damon pointed out. "How are he and Lenora different from you and me?"

Lucy opened her mouth and then shut it, finally saying, "I don't know, but they just are!"

"Would you just give them a chance?" Damon asked. "I think you should."

Lucy sighed. "Fine," she said. "I'll try to be on my best behavior, but I doubt my feelings about him will change."

"But they might," Damon told her. "If your family can deal with you and me and be civil, I think you can do the same for Lenora and James."

Lucy heaved an agitated sigh. "Fine," she grumped. "I'll be seeing them when we go to look at houses tomorrow. Then maybe I can suggest a coffee date or something.

Damon grinned. "There's my girl," he said to her. "Was that really so hard?"

* * *

"You'll never guess, brother," Damon said when he opened the door to Klaus'. "I made myself a new friend."

"Oh, really?" Stefan asked dryly. "How nice for you. I assume your new friend is better than my new friend? Or at least a man?"

"What do you mean?" Damon asked, his eyebrows knitting.

Stefan sighed. "Just watch." They waited a few seconds and Felicity came running out. "Why are you here? You're supposed to be playing dress up with me. Come on!" She began trying to pull him away, but he resisted. "Felicity, can't you see that we have company?"

Felicity stopped pulling and looked at Damon. "Hi," she said. A flush crept up her cheeks. "Sorry."

"It's all right, sweetie," Damon told her. "You didn't know." Felicity looked up at Stefan. "Who is that again?"

"That's my brother," Stefan told her. "Damon."

"But I thought _Daddy_ was your brother," Felicity replied. "I'm confused!"

"Well, they both are," Stefan told her. "It's just that Damon and I are brothers because we have the same parents and your dad and I are brothers in the sense that it's another word for 'friends'."

Damon laughed a little. "This is so cute seeing you explain things to a little kid," he told Stefan. "I never pegged you as the fatherly type."

Stefan's eyes narrowed. "You want me to show you cute?" He asked, his voice tight.

"Are you gonna fight each other?" Felicity asked, her eyes wide.

"Possibly," Stefan replied. "And I don't care if it'll scar you for life."

"Oh, it won't," Felicity assured him. "I want to watch."

Damon saw the eager look in the litte girl's eyes and pulled his brother aside. "Should we be worried that she's _that_ excited to watch us beat up on each other? Is it normal or is she just a weird kid?"

"Well, she's related to Klaus, so what else would you expect?" Stefan asked. "She's his granddaughter although _she_ thinks that he's her father."

"And you aren't telling her the truth because...why?" Damon asked.

"Well, her father is Klaus and Selina's son and he abandoned her or something, and told Klaus to raise her. And he and Selina don't want her to know about her real parents until she's older, cause they're evil or something now." Stefan shrugged. "That's just what I've gathered. I can't really say I know the complete truth."

Damon put a hand on Stefan's shoulder. "How do you let yourself get involved with all this crazy stuff?" He asked. "I think you and I both need to get away for a bit."

"Why?" Stefan asked. "What mess have _you_ gotten yourself involved in?"

"It's a Lucy problem," Damon replied. "And a Lenora problem."

"Does it have to do with your new friend?" Stefan asked.

"Hey!" Felicity yelled. "Are you gonna fight each other, or are you just gonna talk?"  
"Would it irritate you if we keep talking?" Stefan asked her.

"Yes!" Felicity nodded. "I wanna see some fighting!"

"Then we're gonna keep talking," Stefan told her. "Can't you think of some other way to entertain yourself? That's actually a very important skill. _Learn it."_

"Fine, you big meanie!" Felicity replied, striding off to her room. "I'm gonna play a game and you won't be invited, and then you'll be sorry!"

"Yeah," Stefan called. "I'm sure I will! Not!" He turned back to Damon with a smirk on his face. "And that, brother, is the way you handle a whiny, smart-mouth brat."

Damon nodded. "Very effective. I'm proud."

"I'm telling Daddy on you!" Felicity called angrily. "You're supposed to be watching _me_!"

"Well, guess what?" Stefan called back. "You can tell him whatever the hell you want 'cause I really don't care!"

"Wow," Damon replied. "Nice kid."

Stefan sighed. "I know, right? You can definitely tell who she's related to once she opens her mouth. But if you just look at her when her mouth is closed, she's cute. That's how she draws you in and traps you. That's why I have to stay firm with her. Otherwise she makes me do tea parties and play dress up and _god_ knows what else, and I just won't do it. I won't."

"And you're stuck here with her until Klaus gets back?" Damon asked.

"Basically," Stefan nodded. "Yes, I am."

Damon sucked in his breath and put a hand on Stefan's shoulder. "Wow, Stefan. I'm really sorry."

"Was watching Lenora this difficult?" Stefan asked.

"Even more so," Damon replied. "I had Lenora's magic powers to contend with. You don't."

Stefan turned. "Actually," he muttered. "I do." Felicity is...Felicity is Lenora's sister."

"Wow," Damon grinned. "Way to get on the bad side of a witch, brother. I would rather be back at home listen to Lucy complain about Lenora's new boyfriend, who is actually really great by the way; I'll have to introduce you some time, then be here and watch Felicity take revenge on you. Bye!"

"Hey!" Stefan called as Damon made his way toward the door. "You can't just leave me here!" But Damon made no indication that he heard him and when Stefan turned away from the door, he found Felicity looking at him with an innocent smile.

"You know what I just remembered?" She asked him.

"What did you remember?" Stefan asked.

"I remembered that I have magic powers and can use them if you make me mad," Felicity replied. "And you have. You hurt my feelings really a lot."

"So what?" Stefan asked. "Are you gonna turn me into something? I don't care. Go ahead and do it. It'll be interesting to see how you explain it to your father when he gets home."

* * *

When Klaus arrived home that night, he found Felicity cradling a dog. "Where did you get that?" He asked as he got closer to her and the puppy tried to scramble free of her grip.

"It's Uncle Stefan," Felicity admitted. "He hurt my feelings so I made him into a puppy."

"Now, pet, you know that's not a nice thing to do to someone," Klaus told her. "I want you to change him back."

"_Why?!_" Felicity whined. "He doesn't even_ like _me when he's a person and that's all I want."

"But why did you think that turning him into a puppy would make him like you better?" Klaus asked.

"Because puppies like _everyone_," Felicity replied. "Even me."

Klaus didn't know what to say to this pronouncement. He just stood there looking at Felicity clutching Stefan the dog, who was clawing and biting her as he tried to get away.

"Why don't you give him to me for a little while?" he said finally. "Your arms and hands need time to heal."

"Okay," Felicity replied, pouting. She went to her room and then Klaus, after putting Stefan the dog on _his_ bed, went to tuck Felicity in.

"Are you mad at me for what I did to Uncle Stefan?" She asked. "Do you hate me?"

"No," Klaus told her, taking her in his arms. "Of course I don't. There's nothing wrong with wanting to be liked. I've done some pretty awful things so people would love me, too."

"You have?" Felicity asked. "Like what?"

Klaus gave her a sad smile. "I'll tell you later," he replied. "It's not something you should hear right before bedtime."

"All right," Felicity nodded. "Good night, Daddy."

Klaus grinned and turned off the light. "Good night, pet," he replied.

* * *

"So what do you think of this house?" The realtor asked as Lucy, James and Lenora plodded after her. They were looking at a similar house to all the others they'd looked at that day. "It has a big yard, it's near a school, there's lots of children...perfect for newlyweds planning on starting a family."

"We're not newlyweds," James spoke quickly. "That's not what we are."

"Well, I'm sorry," the realtor said. "I just assumed, you know, since she's pregnant and all. Was it hard to explain the mistake you made to your parents?"

"Don't you go calling our child a mistake!" Lenora yelled. "We want him! And even if we didn't, it's none of your damn business. Now, let's leave here and go back to the house we were looking at before this. You barely let us spend any time there."

The realtor frowned. "You mean the old, rundown mansion near the cemetery?" She asked, eyebrows raised. "I don't know why I even showed you that place. Sure, the company's been trying to get it off our books for years, but..."

"We'll take it!" James told her. "It wasn't much different from our old house. We appreciate a fixer-upper."

"Are you sure?" Lucy asked, eyebrow raised.

"Yes," Lenora nodded. "We're sure, Aunt Lucy."

"All right," the realtor replied, even though she still looked skeptical. "Let's sign some papers, then."

"And are you still wanting to go out for coffee after this?" Lenora asked Lucy.

"Sure," Lucy nodded. "It was my idea. There's no way I'd back out of it now."

They signed the papers and then headed to a nearby coffee shop. "So," Lenora asked Lucy. "What inspired you to have us come here?"

"Well, I realized I might have come off a little harsh the first time we met and I wanted to apologize for my behavior," Lucy replied.

Lenora grinned. "Well, that's sweet, Aunt Lucy. Thank you."

"After all," Lucy sighed. "My family wasn't too happy when I decided to be with Damon but I stayed firm on my decision. And I'm happy. Can I assume the two of you are as well?"

"We get along," Lenora nodded. "I think it would be too soon to say that we're 'in love' so to speak, but he's good company and puts up with me, so I don't think I can ask for too much more."

"Do you feel the same about Lenora, James?" Lucy asked him, eyes slightly narrowed.

The intensity of her gaze made James spit coffee all over his front, then he began choking.

Lenora whacked him on the back a few times and when he could finally breathe, he asked, "What's the question again?"

"Do you feel about Lenora the same way she feels about you?" Lucy repeated.

"Well, I don't hate her, if that's what you're asking," James replied. "She keeps things interesting for me."

"See?" Lenora told Lucy triumphantly. "I told you he likes me!"

"He better," Lucy replied, taking a sip of coffee. "Otherwise, life for your child will be hellish."

"Now it's my turn to talk," James said. "Lucy, why don't you like me? You seem to be attracted to a man who's very similar."

"I knew Damon my whole life before he and I got together," Lucy said. "You're just a man Lenora's known for not even a year yet. And I heard you tricked her into starting a relationship with you. How can you expect me to condone that?"

"I don't expect you to condone anything that we do," James told her. "And whether you do or not doesn't matter to me because we're happy the way we are and I don't want you making either of us, but especially Lenora, feel guilty because she made a choice that didn't live up to your standards! She's a damn good girl. She's smart, she's bold, she's strong, and if you think the best way for her to live is with some accountant who'll make her have three kids and a dog or whatever, you really are holding her back and should be incredibly ashamed of yourself."

After this outburst from James, the three of them sat in awkward silence, drinking their coffees until Lucy finally said, "So, do you two want to come over for dinner with Damon and me sometime?"

* * *

A little over a month later, James and Lenora had settled nicely into their new house and had even made up a nice little nursery for the baby, who they planned to name Henry Alistair Black. One day, Max came into the kitchen with breakfast and as he put the plate of bacon down, he said, "I have a request. A friend of mine has come to town. He'll only be here overnight and I was wondering if I might go out and visit him. I don't have to, though, if you think it's too close to the time the baby will be born and you need me."

"Please, go ahead and go," James told him. "We still have plenty of time before we have to worry about that. Right?" He asked Lenora, who nodded, a smile plastered on her face. The truth was, she'd started having contractions a few hours before, but they weren't stopping her from doing anything, so she hadn't thought a thing of it. And she didn't want to ruin this for Max. He so rarely got to go out.

But once he was gone, Lenora's contractions started getting stronger. "Damn!" She muttered under her breath as she curled up on the living room floor. "Damn, damn, damn, damn, _damn!"_

"What?" James asked. "Please don't tell me the baby's coming."

Lenora gritted her teeth and let out a yell. "The baby's coming!"

"Right this minute?" James asked. "All right, let me call Max."

"No!" Lenora rocked back and forth. "Don't call Max! He deserves a night off! We can do this ourselves! We can bring a kid into the world! Now help me get my clothes off!"

James grinned. "I have no problem with that."

Once Lenora was undressed, she lay down on a few towels, and an hour or so later, the baby came into the world.

"I did it!" James said as he held onto his son. "I have a son."

"_I_ did it," Lenora corrected, panting. "You helped. And yes, _we_ have a son." She sat up and smiled at James. "Thank you," she said. "Now, I'll take him, while you go call my grandmother and she can help us clean him up and stuff, okay?"

"Yeah, sure," James panted. "Why not?" He gave his son a long look and lightly touched the boy's spattering of dark hair with the tips of his fingers. "Welcome to the world, Henry. Welcome to the world."


	29. Welcome to the Neighborhood

James was feeling restless that night, so he got up and walked around for a little while before going into Henry's room. The moonlight lit up his tiny son's face, and after staring down at him for a few minutes, James decided to take him out of his crib and hold on to him for a bit, but before he did that, James shut the blinds, making there be very little light in the room. As James stood there, cradling his son, the door to the bedroom opened and he heard a gasp. "Oh, my god," Lenora whispered. She came closer to him and said, "Put the baby down and I won't hurt you."

James tried to explain that it was just him, but she didn't give him a chance. Once Henry was safely in his crib, Lenora immediately began throwing punches in James' direction. A few of them landed and only when James was curled up on the floor did Lenora finally turn on the light.

"Oh, my god," she cried as she looked down at James' twitching body on the floor. She got down on her knees next to him and took him in her arms. "I'm sorry," she told him. "I'm sorry, but I thought you were a kidnapper or something. I'm not used to you being up at night! Are you mad at me?"

James looked at her out of the eye that wasn't swollen shut and told her, "I know you meant well, but how hard would it have been to turn the lights on_ before _you started hitting me?"

Lenora hugged him. "I'm so sorry," she repeated. "But I would never knowingly hurt you. I love you too much to do that."

"Wait, what?" James asked in surprise. "What did you just say to me?"

Lenora cleared her throat. "I said 'I love you too much to intentionally hurt you'. What's so weird about that?"

"Nothing," James replied. "It's just that it's been awhile since someone has actually said that to me. A _long_ while."

"Don't worry," Lenora told him. "You don't have to say it to me until you're ready to. I'm not gonna push the issue." She took his hand and led him toward the door, but James stopped her.

"Why did you come in here in the first place?" He asked. "Surely it wasn't just to beat me up."

"Oh, right!" Lenora put a hand to her forehead. "I'm so stupid! I totally forgot the reason I actually came in here. Thanks a lot!"

James gave her a small smile. "You take care of Henry. I'll be waiting for you in our room."

"All right," Lenora nodded. "I'll be there in a little while." Once he was gone, Lenora picked Henry up, fed him and sat with him. "Don't worry," she assured him. "I don't hate your father. I just made a mistake. He can be a good man when he wants to be. He likes to pretend like he doesn't care about anyone so that people will be scared of him. That's what he likes. But he's always gonna care about you and me no matter what. We just can't tell anyone cause it might get out, and your dad's not ready for people to think he's gone soft yet."

Henry just stared up at her. His eyes were wide and blue, like his father's and Lenora wondered if they'd stay that way, or if, later on, he'd look more like her. After a short time, she let him sleep and went back to her own room, where James was still sitting up in bed.

"I thought you'd be asleep by now," Lenora told him.

"I can't sleep tonight," James told her. "That's why I was up walking around in the first place. Can we talk about what you said earlier?"

"What's there to talk about?" Lenora asked. "So I said that I loved you. Do you have a problem with that? It's not like I'm gonna go broadcast it to the world. I can keep it just between us if you want, but I'm not taking it back."

"And I wouldn't ask you to," James told her. "I don't hate you for saying it. You might even say I'm kind of flattered. It's just been so long since someone actually said those words to me and meant them that it will take awhile to get used to."

Lenora leaned against him and sighed. "I think we should get some sleep now," she told him. "Or at least try as hard as we can." She yawned and leaned against him, her head on his shoulder, her eyes closing. He tensed at first, and then felt himself slowly relaxing. He slowly lay back on the bed with her head on his chest and when it was time to take care of Henry again, he eased himself out from under her and went to tend to Henry himself so that she could have rest. She'd definitely earned it in the time since Henry was born. She had marvelous maternal instinct for a girl so young. He hadn't seen commitment like that since he'd first been alive and that had been over three hundred years ago. When he got back, she was still sound asleep. He climbed into bed, took her in his arms again, kissed her hair and whispered, "What did I do to deserve someone like you?"

* * *

A few days later, the neighbors decided to have a block party. Since they hadn't really met many people yet, when Lenora got the invitation, she suggested they go.

"No," James replied flatly. "I won't. The last thing I want to do after a long, hard day at work is spend time with a bunch of vapid, shallow, stupid people. If I _wanted_ to spend time around people, I wouldn't have been so insistent about buying this house. People are scared of it, so that virtually guarantees we'll be left alone."

"And you're happy with that," Lenora answered.

"Yep," James replied, putting his feet up on the footrest and crossing his ankles. "I am. I have no desire to bond with our neighbors and I don't feel like you should make me."

"All right," Lenora nodded. "I won't make you. But I want to go, so I am. You and Max can watch James while I'm gone."

"Fine," James told her. "We will. And we'll do a damn good job, too! Maybe even better than you do!"

Lenora grinned and ruffled his hair. "Good," she said. "That's all I ask." She left, closing the door behind her and James felt a bit disgruntled. He'd meant to try and work her up with that last remark and she hadn't responded like he'd wanted her to. Eventually, he sighed and went to get Henry.

"Your mother is out for the day so you get to be with me," he told him. "What do you say we go run an errand or two? I'll buy you a present."

Henry just gurgled at him and James smiled, grabbing his bag. "I'll take that as a 'yes'," he replied. "Let's go!"

Lenora was chatting up one of their neighbors, an elderly lady with a dog, when all of a sudden, somebody let out a yell. "Oh, my god!" They cried. "Look over there!" He was pointing in the direction of Lenora's house and when she looked there, she saw a mast of a ship poking up from behind the house.

"Oh, my god," she breathed, putting her lemonade down. "If you'll excuse me, I think I have to go." As her shocked neighbors looked on, Lenora ran down the street and through her front door, slamming it behind her. "James!" She called. "Why is there a boat in our backyard?"

"He's out back with Henry, Lenora," Max told her with a grin. "They're playing with Henry's new toy."

"He's an _infant_!" Lenora cried, feeling shocked. "Has James completely lost his _mind_? Infants can't play with big ships like that! And what will the neighbors say about there being a big ship in our yard?" Sighing, she ran out back and saw James playing with Henry, who was lying on his back on the main deck of the ship.

"James!" She called, hands on hips. "What's this doing here?"

"Well, why not?" He asked, coming down to meet her. "I thought this would be a fun toy for Henry."

"It's a full-sized ship!" Lenora cried. "How is he supposed to play with it?"

"Well, originally it was smaller, but I thought it would be more fun if it were closer to life-size," James replied. "Brings back my pirate days, really."

Lenora scoffed. "You were _not_ a pirate!"

James nodded insistently. "I was too. Our captain was named Roger Stensrund, but everyone called him 'Bloody Roger' on account of how ruthless he was. He disappeared after we found a whole load of treasure and no one ever saw him again, the bastard."

"Shhh!" Lenora put her finger to her lips. "Don't talk like that around Henry!"

James smirked. "Oh, come on, dearest one. You worry too much. Once he starts getting old enough to talk, I promise that I'll watch my language, but don't try and censor me before then because I won't go along with it."

Lenora rolled her eyes. "Fine," she said. "Whatever. But the neighbors really _are_ wondering about the pirate ship. What are we gonna tell them if they ask about it?" She heard a pop, and when she turned around, the boat was a small toy again. "What pirate ship?" James asked innocently. "I don't see any life-sized pirate ship around here. Do you?"

"Clever," Lenora replied, trying her hardest not to laugh. But it didn't work and she cracked up anyway. "That's very clever, James."

"Well, thank you," he replied, coming up to her with Henry in one arm and the boat in the other. "I'd like to think I have enough intelligence to hide my powers from the ignorant human populace. I had a relative who was killed in one of the European witch trials and my family pretty much learned their lesson about being showy with magic after that."

"And yet, big boat in our backyard. Perfectly subtle," Lenora replied, turning her back to him and heading toward the house.

"Hey!" James told her. "It's the twenty-first century now! Modern science can pretty much explain anything. Witchcraft is not the go-to explanation anymore."

"Yeah, but there are still tabloids," Lenora replied. "Imagine how much money someone could get for '_Giant Pirate Ship Appears In Yard Of Quaint Suburban Home_'."

"Why does that matter?" James asked. "I think that's okay. Did we come here with the intention of living like humans? Cause that was never mentioned to me."

"No," Lenora sighed. "We didn't come here to be like humans. But the point is that we _are_ living among humans and although I don't think we should completely conform to their standards, we should at least be careful because we _do_ have to live among these people and there's no use pissing them off."

"Or what if we use so much magic they become afraid of us?" James asked, his eyes bright. "I think I'll do that. It'll be fun."

"_James_..." Lenora began warningly.

"Yes?" He replied with a grin as they went inside. "May I help you?"

"Just be careful with what you do to these people," Lenora begged. "If not for your own good, think about Henry and me."

"You haven't decided to abandon your powers, have you?" James asked with concern.

"No!" Lenora vigorously shook her head. "Of course not! Never mind, just do what you want. I don't care."

James grinned and put his hand under her chin, forcing her to look at him. "I promise I won't overdo it," he told her. "Not if it will upset you."

"Thanks," Lenora nodded. "I appreciate it."

* * *

That night, after Lenora put Henry to bed, she ran into James just outside his bedroom door. "Come here," James whispered. "I have something to show you. Shut your eyes."

"All right," Lenora replied. She shut her eyes and James led to her to the dining room, which he'd decorated lavishly with gold and silver hangings and candles everywhere. He'd also put a dozen roses by Lenora's place. James led her there and helped her sit down, then told her to open her eyes.

Lenora gasped and looked around the dining room in wonder. "What_ is_ all this?" She asked. "Did you do it for me?"

"Yes," James nodded, taking her hand and kissing it as she gaped in surprise. "It's all for you."

"But why?" Lenora asked. "I mean, I'm grateful cause you went to a lot of trouble, but..._why_?"

"You told me you loved me," James told her. "I assume you meant it?"

"Well, yeah!" Lenora nodded. "Of course I did. I don't say things I don't mean."

"Well, think of this as my way of saying 'I love you too'," he replied. "I know it might be a little elaborate, but I didn't think you'd have anything against that."

"No," Lenora shook her head. "It's all lovely. Thank you. And I think Henry will have a lot of fun with that boat you got him."

"I would love to show you the inside sometime," James told her. "If you'll let me."

"It's a toy boat!" Lenora replied. "What of interest could possibly be in it!"

James smirked. "You don't think I'd make a life-sized ship for us without putting at least one bed in there, do you?"

Lenora grinned. "You are such a naughty guy!"

"Guilty as charged," James replied. "And not ashamed either."

"No," Lenora shook her head. "You shouldn't have to be. I'm sorry about yelling at you about the boat. I shouldn't have. It was rude of me."

"You can make it up to me after dinner," James told her. And right after they finished eating, he picked her up and carried her off to their room, where their night of lovemaking was only occasionally interrupted when they had to get up and take care of Henry.

A/N- This chapter was a birthday gift for my lovely friend, Vero! Happy birthday, sweetie, and many more to come!


	30. Finding the Captain

"You don't have to stay home another day if you don't want to," Lenora told James. "If you'd rather be at work, I won't hold it against you. I'll still see you later tonight."

"All right," James nodded. "I was going to tell you that I was thinking about heading back to work, but I didn't know how you'd react."

"Of _course_ you can go back to work," Lenora told him. "I know you're not abandoning me and that you're going to come back, so why not?"

"All right," James replied, grinning and giving her a kiss. "It's off to work I go."

But he ended up coming home a lot sooner than Lenora expected and when he strode through the door, he looked angry.

"Are you all right?" Lenora asked him. "What's the matter?" She tried to embrace him, but he pushed her away.

"It's all _your _fault," he raged. "I hope you're happy."

"What's happened?" Lenora asked.

"Apparently, I'm not_ allowed _to go back to work," he told her. "Thanks to your grandmother. She came by and informed me that the sort of work I do will not be good for my new lot in life as a family man, so I'm being replaced by someone else!"

"That's not my fault!" Lenora told him. "It's Grandmother's. I had no part in it, so don't you go blaming me."

"Oh, right," James nodded. "I'm _sure_ you didn't call your grandmother up when I wasn't around and tell her to sack me the first chance she got. You want to keep me at home and make me a house-husband. I know it!"

"You're being silly!" Lenora replied. "You know I wouldn't do that. I think if work is something that makes you happy, you should do it. I would never stand in your way."

James shook his head. "I don't believe you."

"Fine, don't!" Lenora replied, throwing up her hands. "Whatever! I know that I'm right and if you can't see that I would never stand in the way of what you want, especially if it was only for my own gain, you're an idiot!"

"Oh, yeah?" James called back. "Well, fine! You just be that way! I'm going out!" He slammed the front door behind him without waiting for her to reply. The loud noise caused Henry to burst into tears and Lenora sighed, picking him up and carrying him into the living room, sitting on the sofa, and trying to shush him. Once he was quiet, she went and dressed him, then looked out on the sunny day outside. Deciding fresh air would do both she and Henry some good, she called her aunt Lucy and asked if she wanted to see Henry. Lucy told her yes, and she left, but not before leaving James a note by the phone telling him where she'd gone in case he came back in a better frame of mind. She folded the note in half and wrote James' name on it before she and Henry set off for Lucy's.

* * *

James walked around in town until he found a tavern and strode inside. He sat down heavily on a barstool and sighed.

"Bad day?" The bartender asked.

"Yes," James replied. "Give me the largest quantity of rum that you possibly can. It's all I feel like having right now."

"Wanna talk about it?" The bartender asked, plunking a glass down in front of him.

James took a big swig from the glass and slammed it down, causing some of the rum to slosh down on the bar. The bartender wiped it up, and then James said, "I made a mistake. I raised my voice at the woman I love and she's probably going to leave me now."

"I'm sure it won't end up being that bad," the bartender assured him. "All couples fight and then come out better for it. Why don't you finish that glass and go home, then you and your wife can talk about what happened?"

James drank the rest of the rum in the glass, cleared his throat, and tossed some money at the man. "Thank you, my friend," he told him, then left the tavern and headed in the direction of home. But his heart sank when he reached the house and saw that the driveway was empty. He went inside and looked in Henry's room. He was gone and so were his things. Max had gone out too. No one was in the house except for him. Then, he found Lenora's note by the phone, his name written in her loopy script on a folded piece of paper. He picked it up and started to unfold it, then put it down as if it had burned him.

"That's the note telling me that she's decided to leave me and take Henry with her," he whispered to himself. "But if I don't open it and I don't read it, it'll be like it never happened." He later picked up the note, ripped it to confetti, and threw the confetti in the trash. Turning away from the trashcan, he kicked it over, causing trash to tumble out onto the kitchen floor. He scoffed at the mess, then paced restlessly around the house until the phone rang.

"Hello?" He answered it, his voice sharp.

"Where are you?" Damon asked. "Lenora's here with Henry. Why didn't you come with her?"

"Wait!" James cried. "Lenora is with _you?_ Would you mind asking her why she decided to leave me?"

"_What_?" Damon asked, trying not to laugh because he could tell James was in genuine distress. "What makes you think that she came to see us because she wanted to leave you?"

"Because we had a fight this morning," James told him. "I said some things I shouldn't have because I was upset about being let go from my job. I went out for a drink and when I came back, she and Henry were gone. I just assumed it was because of what I said."

"I'll let you talk to her," Damon replied. The line went quiet for a few minutes and then Lenora's voice coursed through his ears. "What is this silly stuff Damon's telling me about you thinking I wanted to leave you? You _know_ I'd never do that!"

"But I was cross with you this morning!" James told her in amazement. "I accused you of things that weren't your fault!"

"So, we had an argument," Lenora said. "Everyone has those. If you stuck with me after I set myself on fire to get out of cleaning your house and I stuck with you after you told me about the deception you pulled to get me to fulfill the deal we made, I think it will take more than a few harsh words to make me mad enough to end things with you. I left you a note telling you where Henry and I had gone in case you wanted to come. Didn't you read it?"

"Well, no," James admitted. "It's currently ripped up in little pieces. I threw it in the trash. I thought it was the note telling me you'd decided to go for good, and I thought that if I didn't read it, I could at least _pretend _like it wasn't happening."

"Okay," Lenora told him. "Do me a favor: zap yourself over to Aunt Lucy's right now. I have something I want to give you."

She gave him the address again and he got himself to the house. When Lenora saw him, she gave him a small smile and approached him with tears glistening in her eyes. "You really are a silly man," she told him.

"What did you want to give me?" He asked her.

"This," Lenora told him, and put her arms around him, squeezing him tight. "If you ever think I'm gonna leave you again, if you just remember what it feels like, I hope it will be enough to put silly ideas like that out of your head. It's gonna take _a lot_ more than a few harsh words to get rid of me."

"Thank you," James told her. "I needed that."

* * *

"What month is it?" Selina asked Elijah. "Is it the month where I finally have the babies? I'm ready to."

"You might be, but I don't know if I ever will ," he replied. "And why are you asking me about when you're going to have the babies? You're in a better position to know that than I am."

"I just wanna know what month it is, all right?" Selina asked. "I wasn't trying to be smart."

"July," Elijah replied, looking at the calendar. "You probably have about six weeks left. At least according to the date the_ real _doctor we saw gave you."

"And what about that?" Selina asked. "How could you take me to be checked out by a _man_? What would he know that Enid doesn't?"

"Well, he had a diploma on the wall in his office," Elijah told her. "Did you see it? Harvard Medical. Enid has no evidence of having had the proper education whatsoever, so how am I supposed to trust anything she says?"

"People can forge diplomas, you know," Selina told him. "I used to have a friend that did it. If you can fake an ID, you can fake a diploma."

"Why are we fighting about this now?" Elijah asked her. "It already happened. It's done. Stop fussing about it."

"Of course you'd say it's nothing to worry about," Selina told him resentfully. "You won. But that was only because I'm too fat to fight back."

Elijah smirked. "Please. Even if you were svelte, it wouldn't matter. I'm older, I'm stronger, and I know better. Deal with it."

"Well, you know what?" Selina asked. "If you know so much more about this than me, why don't _you _just have the damn triplets?"

"You know I can't," Elijah told her.

"Then how about you do me a favor and not say anything about how I handle being pregnant?" Selina replied. "I know you're just trying to help, and that you mean well, but really, all you're doing is pissing me off!"

"Perhaps you should rest awhile," Elijah suggested. "You seem very overwrought. And Katerina will be bringing the children home from school soon. I assume you don't want to run into her."

"No!" Selina replied through her teeth. "I don't. Not really."

She strode off, shut the door to her and Elijah's room, and when she heard Katherine's voice, it took all her composure not to run back to the kitchen and tear Katherine's throat out.

After a few minutes, there was a knock on the door and Elijah strode in. "She's gone now," he told her. "You can come out now. The coast is clear."

Selina stood up, and then her eyes widened. "Oh, god," she said, sitting down on the bed again. "Oh, _god_!" She stood up and Elijah saw a good-sized wet spot on the comforter.

"Is that what I think it is?" Elijah asked.

"Well, I'm too old to be wetting the bed by now!" Selina snapped. "How many other things could it be?" She plopped down again and let out a yell.

Elijah helped her undress and ran out of the room, bumping into Alistair immediately. "Let me guess," Alistair said. "Selina is in labor?"

"Yes," Elijah nodded, running his fingers through his hair. "How did you know?"

"Cause that's the only time I hear her yell like that," Alistair replied with a grin. Elijah assured the rest of the kids that everything was gonna be okay and to go about their business because they looked a little frightened.

When they reached the bedroom again. Selina was clutching hunks of the comforter in her fists, cursing, and twitching. "Please!" She cried. "Make it stop! I feel like I'm in the worst sort of hell and not even one has come out yet!"

Elijah took her hand. "How can this be happening? They weren't supposed to come for another six weeks!"

Through her pain, Selina managed to chuckle at this remark. "I guess even Harvard educated physicians don't know everything, do they?" She let out another yell, swore, and squeezed Elijah's fingers so hard he thought they would break. It took quite awhile and some skillful maneuvering, but eventually, all three babies were born: Twin girls, named Annaliese and Margaret, and a boy named Tristan.

"Why didn't you put them in the same room?" Alistair asked Elijah as the two of them put each baby in its own room. Margaret's room, and all her clothes, were pink, Annaliese's were purple, and Tristan's, of course, were blue.

"I suggested that," Elijah told him. "But Selina told me that they would just work each other up too much if we put them in a room together and she wants to do everything she can to allow us to enjoy what little sleep we'll get for who knows how long."

"Well, I can't blame her for that," Alistair replied. "Can you?"

"No," Elijah shook his head. "I don't think I would even try. I'll just listen and let her do as she sees fit. I think that would be the wisest course of action."

* * *

"So," Lenora asked James. "You know my sad family story, but I don't know much about yours, other than the fact that your wife screwed you over. What about your parents? Do you remember them?"

"I had parents, of course," James told her. "But I ran away from home when I was about thirteen. Then, I stowed away on a ship that was leaving London, knowing that I would never have to come back. It was very liberating."

"But weren't you scared of what they would do when they found you?" Lenora asked. "I would be."

"I was at first," James replied. "But the captain was surprisingly good-natured about it. I told him that I'd run away and wanted to make something of myself and after he made sure that I wasn't some sort of spy planted on his ship, he taught me the ropes. He seemed nice, which was a surprise because he was the man everyone at home referred to as 'Bloody Roger'. He had the biggest price on his head, but that didn't deter him from anything. He always said they could make it bigger, and they did."

"And did you become a skilled pirate?" Lenora asked.

James nodded. "That I did. Everything was going well until one day our captain decided to make off with our treasure."

"He didn't!" Lenora replied in shock.

"Oh, but he did," James told her. "Took the treasure all for himself, the bastard."

"Well, he's gotta be dead by now, right?" Lenora asked hopefully. "Maybe you could start looking for it."

"Maybe," James replied. "But the thing about the good captain was that he was a vampire. He could still be alive, guarding his loot, jealous as ever."

"Think about this though," Lenora told him. "He's a vampire. You have magical powers. All you have to do is find him, make him tell you where the treasure is by any means necessary, kill him, and then take it for yourself. You can overpower him easy. Mom always said witches could overpower anyone. Want to give it a shot?"

James grinned and took her in his arms. "Only if you come with me."

"You know I will," Lenora replied. "But where will we start? You obviously can't just find centuries-old pirate captains on the internet." She thought a moment and then her eyes lit up. "Maybe the library. Was your captain famous? Would he be in history books?"

James shrugged. "I don't know," he replied. "But it's entirely possible."

So they bundled up Henry and the three of them went to the library where the two of them went through book after book. Finally, Lenora exclaimed "Aha! I _found_ something!" Her first exclamation had caused Henry to start, his eyes widening in surprise. Lenora quickly picked him up to cut off any tears and the James came to sit next to her, putting his hand on her back.

"What did you find?" He asked.

"It's in this book about the history of the Mexican-American War, of all things," Lenora replied. "Nothing in here about him being a pirate. But you _did_ say his real name was Roger Stensrund, right?"

"Yes," James nodded.

Lenora cleared her throat. "It says that there was a Roger Stensrund who was in Texas during the Mexican-American War. He was a doctor and apparently, his medical prowess was legendary. Not a single person died at his hospital. There _was_ a case where a man named Matthew Warren was mistakenly thought dead after enduring a case of typhoid, so they buried him and-wait."

"What?" James asked. "What's wrong?" He'd noticed the confused look on her face. "Matthew Warren?" Lenora looked at the page again. "That can't be right."

"Who is that man?" James asked. "Do you know him?"

"I know the name," Lenora nodded. "He's my great-grandfather on my father's side. My Grandma Selina's father. I've never actually met him, of course, but maybe if he and the Captain knew one another, my Grandma will know and she can tell us more!" She stood up, eager to go see Selina, but James stayed put for a moment. "Before we see her," he said, "Is she the sort who will put up with me, or the kind who will judge me?"

"Let's just put it this way," Lenora told him. "If she judges you, she's an awful hypocrite. She had a phase where her love life was complete crap and didn't handle her frustration about it very well. I think she left _quite_ a trail of bodies behind."

"Oh," James replied with a grin, one eyebrow going up. "She sounds like fun. Let's go."


	31. Back In The Game

"I hate children," Selina grumped as she made her way to the kitchen after yet another night of no sleep. Then she let out a yell as she tripped over a soccer ball of Colin's and fell to the floor. It had been this way for three months now.

"Selina!" Elijah cried, running to help her. "Are you all right? Let me help you up and give you some coffee. That could help."

But Selina refused his hand and curled up in a ball on the kitchen floor. "Even though this floor is hard and cold, I think I can relax on it," she said. "Go grab one of the rugs and just put it over me, will you?"

Elijah sighed and got down on his knees next to her. "I know you're tired," he said. "We both are. But this won't last forever. We just have to get through it and then, when the children are a little older and they sleep through the night, we'll be well-rewarded for our patience."

Grudgingly, Selina sat up. "Don't bother giving me coffee. If it has no caffeine in it, there's no point." As he stood up, her eyes widened. He was wearing nothing but a pair of jeans. "Wow," she told him. "You _must_ be tired, because I think you forgot to dress today."

"I'm dressing this way for practical reasons," Elijah told her. "Two of my suits have already had to be sent to the cleaners because they were spat upon and instead of risking a third, I just decided to wear as little as possible around my darlings because it's much easier to jump in the shower and wash off my skin than pay to have my suits cleaned every week."

"Okay," Selina nodded. "I have no problem with that."

"I thought you wouldn't," Elijah replied with a grin as he pulled her to her feet. "What are you going to do now?"

"I'm gonna go sit on the sofa for a bit," Selina told him. "Try and clear my head."

"All right," Elijah nodded. "I'll go check on the children. Will you be watching the clock so you know what time it is?"

"Well, yeah," Selina nodded. "Duh. It's not like I'd forget to feed the kids even though they've given me nothing but sleepless nights in return."

"All right," Elijah nodded. "If you've already done it once today, I'll see you in an hour or two."

* * *

"Okay," Selina said in surprise as she came to Margaret's doorway and found Elijah standing next to her crib holding on to her. "I forgot you aren't gonna be wearing a shirt. What a pleasant surprise for me."

Elijah grinned. "Remember though, I'm not doing it for you."

"Well, of course you aren't," Selina replied. "But really, the prospect of waking up and knowing you're gonna be walking around the house in nothing but jeans is very encouraging for me. It makes me actually _want_ to get out of bed.

"Glad I could help," Elijah replied with a grin. "Would you like me to get out of your way, or...?"

"No, you can stay," Selina replied. "I know I've been a little harsh about us being together since the kids came, so I figure the least I can do is let you see my boobs, even if someone else is using them at the moment. And who knows? Maybe if you're nice to me, you'll get your turn later."

Elijah gave her a grin and made his way toward the door. "It's a sweet offer, but I can wait," he told her. "I'd rather do that until I have your..._undivided_ attention." He shut the door behind him and Selina fed Margaret, then sat in the rocking chair in her room for a bit, thinking about how lucky she was to be with a guy who she found both extremely attractive and very stable. That combination was something she'd thought she'd never be able to find in her life. Fortunately, she'd been around long enough enough to find exactly what she wanted. She took care of the other two babies and just as she closed Tristan's door, the phone rang. She sped to the kitchen and snatched it up before it could ring too much and wake the kids up. She didn't know if it was the werewolf in them or what, but they had very sensitive hearing and sometimes, it made it very hard to get them to sleep at night.

"Hello?" Selina greeted.

"Hi, Grandma," Lenora replied. "Are you ready to talk about that thing we discussed yet, or is it too soon?"

"Well, Lenora," Selina sat down. "I could tell you what you need to know over the phone, but I can't say I'd be the best hostess if you stopped by, what with three three-month old babies needing my attention nearly every minute."

"Well, saying it over the phone is okay," Lenora assured her. "We don't _have_ to come over."

"So what did you want to know?" Selina asked. "I forgot. It's been awhile since you first told me."

"James and I want to know more about your father and Doctor Stensrund," Lenora told her. "Do you know much?"

"Of course I do," Selina told her. "Doctor Stensrund turned me. His daughter Lucy turned my father, and then Doctor Stensrund showed him the ropes."

"Did you ever hear anything about Doctor Stensrund being a pirate?" Lenora asked.

"Yeah," Selina nodded. "But it was just assumed to be a rumor. At least for my human life it was."

"Why wasn't it later?" Lenora asked. "Did you find evidence to support it?"

"Well," Selina sighed. "Not definite proof, but after I killed him, I took up residence in his house. I was exploring one day and I found a secret room that was just filled with all sorts of coins and jewels and stuff." The line went silent for a moment while Lenora told James this. Then Selina heard a gasp. "Everything okay over there?" Selina asked.

"Yeah," Lenora nodded. "We're okay. So did you _do_ anything with the stuff, or did you let it be?"

"I admit I spent it freely," Selina replied. "But I bet I barely made a dent in the amount that was there. However, the last thing we did before I left town with your grandfather was that we burned the house down."

More silence before an angry voice Selina had never heard before took over. "How could you do that?" He yelled. "That was not yours to spend, and how could you just set it all on _fire_? People could be looking for that, you know. People who _actually_ deserve it!"

Before Selina could reply, she heard Lenora say, "James, give me the phone."

"Sounds like I hit a nerve there," Selina replied. "What was _that_ about?"

"Well," Lenora paused. "Apparently, Doctor Stensrund _was_ a pirate. James was part of his crew. They all found the treasure together, and the good doctor absconded with it."

Selina scoffed. "Sounds like him. Tell James I'm sorry, would you? And that at the time, I did what I did with the treasure out of ignorance?"

"Of course I will," Lenora nodded. "He'll understand that eventually. He's just feeling a little bitter right now."

"Oh," Selina sucked in her breath. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Lenora assured her. "You didn't know. Goodbye."

"'Bye," Selina told her, and then hung up. She sat with her head down on the kitchen table for a few moments, then an idea came into her head. She strode to Elijah's office and saw that the door was closed. She knocked twice, and when she got no answer, she opened the door and, seeing no one inside, stripped down to her underwear and bra. She kicked her clothes under his desk, then turned his spinny desk chair so that it was facing away from the door and climbed in, every part of her hidden by by the back rest of the chair, except for her legs. Then, she waited.

Elijah came into his office a few minutes later and when Selina heard the door open, she did the best she could not to laugh and give herself away. She was suddenly facing Elijah as he spun the chair around to face him.

"Well, hello there," he greeted her with a grin. "I wasn't expecting to see you here."

"Of course you weren't," Selina replied, moving her legs off the armrest and putting her bare feet on the floor. "That's why it's called a _surprise_."

Elijah grinned. "You know," he told her as he pulled her into his arms. "It's been much too long since we've done this." He began kissing down her neck.

"I know," she sighed, clutching him. "I'm sorry about that."

Elijah put his lips over hers and when he ended the kiss, he told her, "You don't have to be sorry for anything. Let's not think of anything else. We don't want to waste what little time we have." He picked her up and lowered her onto the sofa bed, then climbed in after her.

Selina giggled. "It's gonna take a lot less time to undress you now, isn't it?"

Elijah undid his zipper. "Yes," he replied. "It looks like it. And look! You were so kind as to save _me _time too!" He quickly removed her bra and her panties and they rolled around on the bed, trying to be as quiet as they could be (which was _very _difficult) Finally, he rolled off her. "I think that should hold us for awhile," he said. "What do you think?"

Selina was breathing hard. "You know I wish with every fiber of my being that we could go on longer, but at this point, it's probably best to make things quick." They began looking around the office for their clothes and after they got dressed, the left the office to check on the triplets.

* * *

"I have a question," Gregory told Katherine. "After we drop Colin and Laura off at home, can you and I go somewhere, just the two of us?"

"No," Katherine told him. "I realize that you might have some sort of feelings for me, but you're just too young, all right? Go bother some girl your own age!"

"Actually," Gregory told her quietly, a slight flush coming into his cheeks. "That's not what I wanted to be alone with you for. I just wanted to talk. And I thought you'd be the best person to talk to since Mom and Dad are too busy."

Katherine sighed. "Fine," she said. She dropped Laura and Colin off at home and she and Gregory drove away. "Fine," she said. "Shoot. I'm already having to listen to your father complain, you might as well do it too."

Gregory's eyes narrowed. "Well, I don't know if I want to," he told her suddenly. "I wouldn't want to burden you with my stupid problems, since apparently it's too much for you to be decent to one person who asked you for help!"

"Oh, stop," Katherine told him. "If you're trying to guilt me, it's not going to work. If you want to say something, go ahead and say it. If you don't, get out of the car so I can go home."

"Fine," Gregory said, grabbing the door handle. "I will. Goodbye." He didn't look back as Katherine drove off, but instead strode into the house and put his bag on a chair before going in search of his father.

"We need to talk," he demanded of Elijah when he found him in Tristan's room. "I know you're busy, but this is important!"

"Well, of course," Elijah replied, holding on to Tristan. Annaliese didn't seem to need him as often. She was more attached to Selina. "What did you want to talk about?"

"Katherine," Gregory said immediately. "Were you ever in love with her?" He sat down on the nursery floor and looked his father in the eye.

"Well," Elijah replied, sitting down in the rocking chair. "I suppose at one point I might have had feelings that could have been called 'love' for her, yes. It didn't end well for us, though."

"You're lucky," Gregory said bitterly. "At least she liked you."

"Where is this coming from?" Elijah asked. "Are you telling me that you have some feelings for her too?"

"I _did_," Gregory nodded. "But she doesn't care about me. She's as wicked as Mom says. I asked her for help and she was mean to me about it!"

"What sort of help did you want from her?" Elijah asked.

"I wanted to talk to her about all the stuff I can't talk to you and Mom about because you're too busy with the babies, but _she_ thought I wanted to tell her that I loved her or something and her reaction was unnecessarily harsh." After this pronouncement, a flush came into Gregory's cheeks again.

Elijah sighed and put Tristan back in his crib. "Don't be too harsh on her," he advised, coming to sit next to Gregory and put an arm around him. "Katerina's had a rough life. She's lost many people and spent a lot of time by herself. Things have been hard for her."

"But that doesn't mean it's okay for her to be mean to someone who just wants to talk!" Gregory replied. "It doesn't excuse that! You shouldn't be allowed to be a mean person just because you've had some bad times!"

"I admit it's not an ideal situation," Elijah replied. "And it can't be easy being rejected by someone you love so much, but-"

"I _don't_ love her!" Gregory interrupted harshly. "I've learned my lesson and I'm not gonna allow her to make me feel like an idiot any more!" He got up and strode out of the room, leaving Elijah alone and unsure of what to do next.


	32. The Withholders

Klaus looked at the pile of mail that sat on the kitchen table. There wasn't much, of course. There never was. However, one letter, in a red envelope, stood out to him. It was from Helene, with an address in New Orleans, and had Felicity's name on the front. Curious, Klaus opened it and read it over.

_"Hi, sweetie," It began. "I know I promised you that I'd keep in touch but I've been busy. I haven't forgotten about you, though. How are things going? Are you doing well in school? I hope I can come back and visit some time because I would love to see you. Again, sorry it took me so long to get in touch and I promise I'll write again soon._

_Love,_

_Helene."_

Klaus folded up the letter, put it in the envelope, then, envelope in hand, went to Selina's, leaving a note for Stefan to ask him to pick Felicity up from school.

* * *

Since Klaus had gone to talk to Selina, it was up to Stefan to pick Felicity up from school. He delayed as much as he could, stopping to buy beer and cigarettes and stuff like that, and when he finally got to the school, he found Felicity sitting alone on a bench and crying.

"Get up!" He demanded. "I'm here to take you home."

"What_ took _you so long?" Felicity cried. "I thought you forgot about me!"

"I didn't forget," Stefan replied. "I just wasn't as prompt as your father would have been."

This made Felicity start crying again.

"You stop that right now!" Stefan commanded as he herded her into the car. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"A boy_ kissed _me at recess today!" Felicity cried in despair. "And now I'm gonna have a baby just like Mommy did! But I don't want to and I'm _scared_!"

"Wait a minute," Stefan smirked. "Are you telling me that you think you'll have a kid just because a boy kissed you?"

"Yeah," Felicity nodded. "Babies come from kissing."

Stefan thought of telling her that she was wrong, but then he realized that it_ was _kind of the truth. No reason to tell her the rest of it now, though. She was too young.

"You want me to tell your dad about this?" He offered.

"No!" Felicity cried. "He'll get mad and throw me in the street!"

"Fine," Stefan replied. "We won't tell him now. It'll be our secret."

Felicity nodded and wiped tears from her eyes. "Thank you, Uncle Stefan."

* * *

"Klaus?" Selina asked in surprise when she opened the door and saw him on the other side. "Well, this is unexpected."

"Are you frightened of me?" Klaus asked. "Are you afraid that I'll lose control and break my promise to my brother?"

"No," Selina shook her head. "At least I hope you wouldn't. What can I do for you?"

Klaus stepped inside and went to the living room where he sat down on the sofa. "First, how are you doing? I hear I have some new nieces and a nephew."

"That's true," Selina nodded. "It's been a bit of a trial, let me tell you, but thanks for asking. Now, what brings you here?"

He handed her the envelope. "Helene sent Felicity a note from New Orleans where she and Adrian are."

"So?" Selina asked. "Why would that warrant you coming all the way over here?"

"Do you think it's a good idea for Helene to contact Felicity?" Klaus asked. "Or do you think it will lead to questions?"

Selina read the note over. "I think it should be all right," she assured him. "In her writing, Helene doesn't give anything away. As long as you don't allow yourself to get too panicky and do anything that will make Felicity suspicious about how you and she are really related, I don't think you have anything to worry about."

Klaus nodded. "Good. We _have_ been very lucky as far as Felicity not being curious about our real relationships to her."

"It's cause we've been careful," Selina replied. "That and she's had no reason to question us. But we have to expect that as she gets older, she _might_ question it, and we have to come up with good answers to whatever she asks. But thank _god_ she looks more like Adrian, who looks like you. It makes this whole thing so much easier. If she'd looked like Helene, things would have been much more difficult."

Klaus shrugged. "Not really. In that case, we could have just told her that Alistair was her father and that you were her mother and that the two of you decided to remarry."

Selina sucked in her breath. "Well, I'm glad we didn't have to do that." They looked at each other for a few seconds and then Klaus stood up. "Well, all right then," he said. "If you don't think there's anything to worry about, then I won't worry. I should probably get home. I asked Stefan to pick Felicity up from school and the two of them can't be left in the same room for more than a few minutes."

"All right," Selina nodded. "Goodbye, Klaus."

"Goodbye, Selina," he answered and then went out the door, shutting it gently behind him.

* * *

Klaus arrived home and opened the front door. He'd seen Stefan's car in the driveway, so he knew that Stefan and Felicity were home. "Stefan?" He called. "Felicity? You two haven't killed each other, have you?"

"No," Felicity called. "We're okay."

Klaus grinned and sat next to her. "Good. How was school?"

Felicity shrugged. "Okay. Not exciting."

"Yes, it was," Stefan told her. "Tell him what happened to you at recess."

"I don't want to," Felicity told him, eyes narrowed. "So be quiet!"

"Fine," Stefan told her. "Then I'll tell him."

"No!" Felicity cried, running at him and hitting him with her tiny fists. "Don't you dare!"

"Just a minute!" Klaus interrupted, picking her up and sitting her down on his lap. "What's wrong?"

"A boy kissed me today at recess and now I'm gonna have a baby like Mommy did!" Felicity cried, tears welling up in her eyes. "It was a accident! Please don't put me in the street!"

As she buried her face in his shoulder, Klaus tried not to laugh "I would never throw you out in the street," he assured her. "And what sort of person would tell you that simply kissing someone would make you pregnant?"

Felicity looked up at him. "All the kids say so," she said. "They say that sometimes, they go into their parents' rooms at night and their parents are kissing and one time, Timmy Wells saw that, and then his mommy told him she was gonna have a baby. And Uncle Stefan told me too."

Klaus looked up at Stefan. "Why?" He asked.

Stefan shrugged. "Well, it's not entirely a lie, is it? I just neglected to mention that you have to do other stuff too."

"Wait a minute!" Felicity said, hopping off Klaus' lap and stiding over to Stefan. "You _lied_ to me?"

"I didn't lie!" Stefan defended himself. "I just withheld information. That's not the same thing!"

Her mouth twisted, and her eyes flashing, Felicity turned back to Klaus. "Daddy, where's something heavy and pointy that I can hit Uncle Stefan with?"

Klaus smiled, stood up and then came back with a fireplace poker. "Here," he said. "Be careful with this. It's heavy."

"Hey!" Stefan protested as Felicity took the poker and did her best to hold on to it. "Who's side are you on, anyway?"

"You shouldn't have lied to her, Stefan," Klaus told him. "That's not very nice."

Stefan looked back at Felicity, who was grinning evily. "Now what?" He asked dryly.

"You run," she said. "I chase you. If I catch you, I hurt you. Don't worry. I'll give you til I count five, cause I wanna be polite."

* * *

"What's wrong with you?" Damon asked James a few days later. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but you seem down."

James nodded. "I think you could say that," he replied.

"He's upset because he thinks Grandma Selina ruined his life," Lenora informed Damon. "Personally, I think he's being a bit overdramatic, but-"

"I am not!" James barked. "I've been looking for that treasure for years, okay? Or at least I've thought about it for years. And to find out that it was heedlessly destroyed by someone is almost more than I can bear."

Damon looked at Lenora. "What's he talking about? Give me the short version."

"Okay," Lenora nodded. "Apparently, Doctor Stensrund really _was_ a pirate and kept all the treasure he stole in his house. After Grandma killed him, she spent a lot of it, and when she and Grandpa Klaus left, they burned the house down with the treasure still inside. James was part of the crew Dr. Stensrund cheated, so he's upset that the treasure was destroyed."

"Bummer, man," Damon replied.

"I know," James replied. "I have to think of a completely different goal for myself now."

Lenora put a hand on his shoulder. "Would it make you feel better if you just talked to my grandmother?" She asked.

"What's the point?" James asked. "It's not like once we talk, the treasure will come back."

"True," Lenora replied. "But still. It's something."

"I know Lenora's grandmother very well and I don't think she would purposely destroy a bunch of treasure," Damon said. "Is that what she told you?"

"Actually," Lenora replied, "she never actually _said_ that the treasure was burned in the fire. James reached that possibly erroneous conclusion on his own."

"How could the treasure _not_ have been burned in the fire?" James asked. "There was a lot of it. Your grandmother couldn't have moved it all before the house was set on fire."

"How would you know that?" Damon asked. "Selina's not stupid. If she knew all the treasure was in the house, she wouldn't just waste it."

"We'll talk to her _now_," James announced, bringing his fist down on the table.

"Remember what she said, though?" Lenora reminded him. "Going over to her house may not be the best idea cause of all the babies."

"She can come _here_, can't she?" James asked. "There's nothing preventing her from doing _that, _is there?"

"No," Lenora replied. "I guess not. But James-"

"No buts!" James interrupted. "Damon, you wouldn't mind calling her and asking her to come over, would you? After all, you know her much better than I do."

Damon nodded. "I'm on my way." He went to call Selina and came back a few minutes later. "She says she'll come, but she can't stay for very long."

"That's all right," James replied. "It shouldn't take too long to get the information out of her that I want."

"How are you gonna get it out of her?" Lenora asked with a grin. "You gonna keelhaul her? Make her walk the plank?"

"We never actually did _any _ of those things, you know," James told her. "They're just from the movies. Although there _are_ times I have half a mind to make _you_ walk the plank."

"Well, aren't you sweet?" Lenora asked.

Damon looked back and forth between them. "Care to explain?" He asked. "Or is this some sort of inside joke I'll never get? Well, of course I get it, but I don't get why-you know what? Never mind."

"Lenora's never scared of me," James told him. "No matter what I do, I can't make her quake with fear the way I could with anyone else."

Lenora just grinned. "So," she asked Damon, "Where's Aunt Lucy?"

Damon cleared his throat. "She went to talk with her father," he told her. "She thinks it's important to at least _try _to have a good relationship with him."

"Did she leave because she knew we were coming?" James asked. "She _really_ doesn't like me, does she?"

Lenora took his hand. "It's all right," she assured hm. "You can't please everyone. I still like you."

James gave her a small smile. "And I guess since you're the one I have to live with all the time, it's a good thing, isn't it?"

Just then, there was a knock on the door and Damon stood up. "There's Selina," he said. "I'll go answer it. James, you prepare yourself."

When he came back with Selina a few minutes later, James started. "_You_!" he cried out, jabbing a finger in Selina's direction. "I_ know _you! You're Lonely Heart! I remember when I used to read about your exploits and wish that you were a witch so I could do something with you."

"James' job in the magical world used to be that he would punish people who mocked love," Lenora reminded Selina.

"And you wanted to go after _me_?" Selina asked in surprise. "I don't see why. _I _was always the wronged party. I was always the one who was being lied to, cheated on, and abandoned! If you wanted to punish people who made a mockery of love, you should have punished every scumbag ex I ever had! _They_ were the ones making a mockery of love, not me!"

"Wow," James said. "Touchy subject."

"Yeah," Selina replied. "It is. So, what did you want to talk to me about?"

"The treasure," James replied. "Bloody Roger's treasure. Please tell me it's not all destroyed."

"No," Selina shook her head. "We got it out before the house burned."

"Wonderful!" James replied. "Can I have it now?"

Selina raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me? You think I'm just gonna _give_ it to you? After all the good doctor put me through, my having his treasure is the _least_ he can do to pay me back."

"But it wasn't his," James replied through his teeth. "He stole it from me and the other members of the crew. _No one_ deserves it more than me. Not even you, Lonely Heart."

Damon looked back and forth between James and Selina, who seemed like they wanted to attack each other. "Well, this is kind of awkward," he said. "Why don't the two of you split the remaining treasure in half? That way, everyone gets some."

"No," James and Selina said at the same time.

Damon looked at Lenora. "What do you think we should do about this?"

Lenora grabbed James' arm and began trying to pull him away. "I think we'll just go home and rest for a bit. I think that would be a good idea."

"Run away!" Selina yelled after them. "You're _definitely_ not getting the treasure!" She blew a raspberry at their retreating backs. After they were gone, Damon gave Selina a smirk. "Well that was handled well," he said sarcastically. "I think your mother would be proud."


	33. Something Missing

"I want the treasure!" James told Lenora.

"I wish you weren't so single minded," Lenora told him. "Why can't you just use your magic to make more treasure?"

"Cause it's not the same!" James told her. "It won't be the stuff that I ached, sweat, and bled to bury! There'll be no sense of accomplishment if I just make treasure appear!"

"Well, if you want any at all, I think that's what you'll have to do," Lenora told him.

"Why are you siding with your grandmother?" James asked.

"Because," Lenora told him, "being a vampire is_ not _a fun experience. Well, being turned into one isn't fun."

"How would you know?" James asked. "Weren't you born one?"

"Yes," Lenora nodded. "But I know vampires who were turned and if you ask me, Grandma is right for wanting compensation."

James sat down hard on the sofa. "This is just terrible."

Lenora sat next to him. "And what were you planning on doing with the treasure once you had it? Between the magic we both have and the vampire powers I have, we can get anything we want. We don't even need money. Having it means a lot to my grandmother. Maybe if you give it time and don't fuss at her about it, she'll give you some later."

James stood up and sighed. "Fine," he said. "I'm gonna take Henry into the ship. Taking him on a pretend treasure hunt won't be as good as the real thing, but it will be something."

Lenora sighed and watched him go, and then turned to Max. "He's really taking this hard," she observed. "I promise I'm not siding with my grandmother just to be difficult, but I really don't see what the big problem is." She paused. "Maybe I'd be doing both of us a favor if I just stopped talking about it. It probably won't make James forget forever, but maybe I can distract him so he forgets for just a little while."

"That won't take too much effort to do," Max told her. "You go outside and I'll tell you when dinner is ready."

Lenora looked at the clock. It was only two in the afternoon. "Do you really think I'll be out there that long?" She asked.

"With James in this mood," Max told her, "I would not hesitate to say 'yes'."

"What a baby." Lenora rolled her eyes and got off the sofa, heading into the yard. She knocked on the jutting wooden side of the ship and heard James call in a flat voice, "Come in." Lenora went inside and found James holding on to Henry and looking out one of the windows of the ship into the yard.

"Hey," she said. "I think you need to be distracted. What can I do to help?"

James didn't meet her eyes as he shifted Henry on his lap. The baby squirmed and then reached for Lenora. She took him in her lap and then James finally looked at her. "So?" She asked. "What do you think?"

"I think," James replied, standing up, "that I'm not exactly in the mood to be 'distracted' now. Maybe later, though."

Lenora sighed. "So you're just gonna sit in here and sulk and be grumpy? No." She put Henry on her hip and went to stand over James. "Get up," she said. "I'm not gonna let you just wallow. It's not healthy. So you won't get your treasure. Who the hell cares, really? There are more important things in your life than that now!" She thrust Henry in his line of vision. "Like Henry! Don't you want to set a good example for him? This is _not_ the way to do that!"

"Put him down," James ordered her.

"Why?" Lenora asked.

"Just do it," James replied, coming right up against her body. She backed up a little and put Henry on the floor.

"There now," James replied. "Now, you knew when you met me that I was no hero. And I really don't understand why you think our having a child will change that."

Lenora opened her mouth and shut it, staring at him incredulously for a few seconds. "What are you saying?" She asked. "Do you want out? Do you want to leave?"

"No!" James shook his head. "Of course I don't want to leave! If I leave, it will just remind me that you're all I have and I don't want to face that. What I _do_ want is for you to allow me to be upset about this! You think it's stupid, I get that. You just think that I can make it better by using magic, but I can't. I told you before that it's not the same thing!"

"Okay, okay, fine!" Lenora replied. "I'm sorry for mocking your dream or whatever." She sighed. "You do whatever you need to in order to feel better about this short of having an actual confrontation with my grandmother. That's not a smart idea."

James sighed. "Fine," he replied. "Whatever. Although how someone who looks as harmless as she does could really be all that bad, I really have no idea." Grunting, he stood up, a grin slowly spreading over his face.

"What?" Lenora asked. "Why are you smiling like that?"

"Take Henry inside," James replied. "And do it quick."

"Ah," Lenora nodded. "So you're in the mood to be distracted now."

"Well, that," James replied, "and I realized I hadn't shown you the bedroom in here yet, so..."

Lenora just stood there and stared at him. "You do remember that this started out as a child's _toy_, don't you?" She asked.

"Yes, and then I used my magic to make it better," James replied impatiently. "Are we just gonna stand out here talking or are you actually gonna do what I asked you to?"

Rolling her eyes, Lenora took Henry inside and then came back out. "So," she said as she came back in. "Where is this bedroom you wanted to show me?"

James took her hand and led her into the room. "Wow," Lenora said as she looked around. It wasn't a lavishly decorated room. It only contained a large bed with a chest at the foot and a window looking out.

"Not a lot in here, is there?" She asked.

"Well, to be quite honest," James replied, "I see this room as having one purpose and one purpose only, so there's really no need to make it very decorated and fancy."

Lenora scoffed. "Oh right," she said. "This is meant to be a purely functional room. We come in here, we do each other, we leave."

"Exactly," James nodded. "It's what I thought, so I'm glad you agree."

"I do _not_ agree!" Lenora shook her head. She closed her eyes and then opened them again a minute or so later. With a sweep of her hand, the room was covered with photos and maps and a couple of tiny nautical sculptures sat on the chest and a small card table in the corner. "There," Lenora replied. "_Much_ better."

James' jaw dropped a little. "What did you have to go and do that for? You ruined it!"

"How did I ruin it?" Lenora asked. "All I did was give it a little more character. It's not girly or anything, if that's what you're fussing about."

"Why can't you just leave things be?" James asked. "Like the way _I_ want them? This is _my _and Henry's boat! We only let you visit!"

"Fine!" Lenora replied, and returned the room to it's formerly austere state. "There you go. Boring as ever. Are you happy?"

James looked around the room in satisfaction. "Yes," he nodded. "I am. Thank you." Then, he went over to the bed, grinned wolfishly, and pulled the blankets aside. "Would you care to join me?" He asked.

Lenora started to shake her head, but then she stopped. "Oh, what the hell?" She replied. "If it's what the room is for, why not?" They both undressed and then she hopped into bed with him.

As James kissed all over her body and then slipped inside her, Lenora sighed. They would _definitely_ be using this room a lot.

* * *

"I can't believe you're upset about Katherine," Laura said as she came into Gregory's room. "Why do you even like her? She's so _mean_!"

Gregory turned and frowned at his sister. "Were you eavesdropping?" He asked. "It's not polite to do that!"

"No," Laura shook her head. "Mom told me you just don't like Katherine anymore and I wanted to say that I was happy you were being smart."

"That's the thing, though," Gregory replied. "I do still kind of like her, just...not as wholeheartedly as I did before. She's gonna have to get a lot nicer or change some other way before I like her that much again. Or maybe I won't like her. Maybe I can do something at some point that will make her like _me_!"

"Good idea!" Laura nodded in approval. "And when she finally _does_ like you, you can be as mean to her as she's being to you and then she'll feel bad for being a jerk!"

Gregory sighed. "But what's the point of that, though?" He asked. "If I still love her, how is humiliating her and forcing her to like me gonna make me feel any better?"

"I don't know," Laura shrugged. "It was just a suggestion. Don't have a cow!" She left the room and Gregory sat in silence for a few minutes before his thoughts were interrupted by another knock on his bedroom door.

"Who is it?" He called.

"It's your mother," Selina called. "With Tristan. Can we come in?"

"Sure," Gregory replied. "Whatever. I don't care."

Selina came in and looked at him. "Are you okay?" She asked. "I know we haven't paid a lot of attention to you lately, but if there's something really wrong, all you have to do is say so and we'll deal with it."

Gregory considered telling Selina about his problems, but then decided against it. "No, thanks," he said. "You won't be able to help me."

"Is this about Katherine?" Selina guessed. "I heard she was a bit harsh to you."

"Just a little," Gregory replied. "But it's not like it bothers me."

"It does, doesn't it?" Selina asked. "You come home from school every day and you hole yourself up in here. The last time you did that was when you missed your father. Even though Katherine and I have had our differences, I won't let that get in the way of my helping you. So tell me," Selina said, more firmly this time. "What is the problem?"

"I don't want to like her anymore," Gregory said quietly, his voice tightly controlled. "She made me feel like an idiot. But I just-" He sighed. "Something keeps telling me to be nice to her. It's so _annoying_!"

He picked up a tiny bouncy ball and chucked it against the wall with all his might. Tristan watched, his eyes wide with alarm, as the ball bounced from one wall to another before finally coming to rest on the floor.

"Did that make you feel better?" Selina asked.

Gregory shrugged. "Maybe a little."

"Good," Selina nodded. She stood up. "Now that that's settled, would you mind watching him?" She asked, proffering Tristan at Gregory. "An emergency came up at the bakery and I have to go check it out. I won't be gone long and if you run into problems, you can ask your father or Alistair for help."

Gregory groaned. "Why do _I _ have to watch him? Why can't _Laura_ do it? She's here too!"

"Because," Selina replied, "Some day, you might have kids of your own and if you try and pull that 'I'm a man so I don't have to take care of kids' crap on your wife, she'll probably kill you. Come on, even your father does it, so it can't be _that_ bad. Right?" She eyed him hopefully and held out Tristan again.

Gregory rolled his eyes. One of his mother's best skills was picking a bad time to make a good point. "Fine," he said. "Give him here and go to the bakery. But you said you aren't gonna be gone long and I'm holding you to that!"

* * *

Elijah was struggling with himself. His father had called and asked to come and visit the triplets. He knew that his father had a right to come visit, but he also knew that his father and Selina didn't get along and she'd already been through enough. Seeing him might just bring her to the edge of her patience. Maybe even push her over the edge. And even though they had Alistair to help, he really didn't think he could manage the children without her.

When she got home from the bakery that night, Elijah and Alistair were sitting with the kids in front of the television.

"Well, isn't this a nice picture?" Selina observed. "It looks like you got through the day all right. Anything interesting happen?"

"No," Elijah replied. "Nothing at all."

But later that night, as they rolled around the bed and he kissed under her belly button, he decided now was the time to tell her the bad news.

"What are you doing?" Selina asked when he paused. "Why did you stop?"

He sighed. "I have something to tell you," he said.

"What is it?" Selina smiled, running her fingers through his hair. "Is it that you think I'm irresistibly hot? Cause that's what I think about you."

He looked at her happy face and nodded. "Yep," he said. "That's it."

Then, when she began kissing down his neck, although it felt really good, he decided he had to put a stop to it and tell her before she got him too distracted.

"Stop," he said. "For just a minute. I have something I need to tell you and you might not like it."

"What is it?" Selina asked, looking worried. "Is there a problem?"

"It's actually only a problem if we make it one," Elijah told her. "My father wants to come and see the triplets. I can arrange something for you so you don't have to be around when he comes. What about going shopping? Would you like to spend the day buying clothes instead of being around my father?"

"Sounds great!" Selina replied. "When is your father swooping down upon us?"

"The day after tomorrow," Elijah replied. "So you have a little time to prepare."

* * *

However, when Selina heard a knock on the door the next day and went to answer it, she was less than pleased to see Mikael smirking on the other side. "You weren't supposed to be here until tomorrow!" She cried. "Go away, would you?"

"I thought this would be a good surprise for you," he said. "I figured that if I waited until tomorrow, you'd conveniently be gone somewhere else. This is much better."

"Why does it matter to you where I am?" Selina asked. "You hate me! You don't even like that Elijah and I are married. I would have though my being gone would be a boon for you."

"I admit you aren't precisely the sort I would like for a daughter-in-law and I don't think I will ever allow you to share the same name as me," Mikael replied, elbowing his way in the house. "But seeing as I now have_ six_ grandchildren from you, I have to admit you're a good breeder, if nothing else. Now, where are the children?"

"I'll have Elijah introduce you," Selina said through her teeth. "Since you're _his_ father, I think I'll let him have the task of dealing with you, because I know I sure as hell don't want to spend more time with you than I have to."

Mikael just gave her another grin. "The feeling is mutual, dear. Now, scamper along and get Elijah for me. And maybe a warm drink, too. There's a nip in the air."

Selina scoffed. "If you want it," she replied, "get it yourself." Then, she strode off in search of Elijah, glad she could hole herself up in her room once she found him and not come out again until Mikael was gone.


	34. Learning Life's Lessons

"I've made a decision," Lenora told James. "And you might not like it, but hear me out, all right?"

"Okay," James replied. "What is it?"

"I want to go back to school," Lenora replied. "I wanna finish high school at least. I think it would be good for me. You're not mad, are you?"

"No," James shook his head. "Why would I be mad at you?"

Lenora shrugged. "Well, when you took me away, it was with the understanding that I would never come back, right? But I figure that since our relationship dynamics have changed and we have a son that at least one of us needs to be a good example for, I figured it would be a good time to ask."

"All right," James replied. "Why not? Max and I will watch Henry during the day, you go get educated, and we'll see you at night."

Lenora nodded. "All right, thank you. Now, are you sure you'll be able to handle all the responsibility, 'cause-"

"YES!" James nearly shouted. "We'll be fine. Just go. Don't try to talk yourself out of your own idea. Henry will be fine, I swear."

"All right," Lenora nodded. "I'll go to the school tomorrow and see about getting re-enrolled. Thanks for letting me do this."

"You're welcome," James replied. "And I'm sure your aunt will be pleased to hear about your decision."

Lenora nodded. "And I'll tell her how much you supported me, and maybe she'll stop thinking that you're nothing but a bad influence."

On her first day back to school, Lenora tried to be as inconspicuous as possible. She sat down in her first class and when it was time for the lesson to begin, the teacher took roll. He paused at Lenora's name and looked up at her. "A new face! Why don't you come up here and introduce yourself to your classmates?"

Lenora was about to stand up when a voice stopped her cold. "She's not new, Mr. Gulliver. Lenora left after homecoming last school year because she got pregnant and was too ashamed to go to school with the rest of us and I don't blame her."

The teacher looked at her uncertainly. Lenora shut her eyes tight. She should have sensed that this sort of thing would happen. After a few deep breaths, she opened her eyes and strode up to the front of the room. "Hello, everyone," she greeted them. "I'm Lenora Fale and yes, Stephanie and any of the rest of you who thought the same thought she was kind enough to share with everyone, are correct. I _did _leave school after homecoming and there _was_ a pregnancy involved. But I'm not ashamed of it. I have a lovely six moth old boy and I like his father very much, so I'm happy with the way my life is, and glad that I found the time to come back to school and graduate." She then went to sit down.

"A lovely sentiment, Miss Fale," the teacher replied. "Now, on to today's lesson." Lenora got through the day fine, but the mocking that had begun in her first class followed her everywhere she went. By the end of the day, her patience was wearing thin and she was ready to turn anyone else who spoke to her into a snail. As she was putting her books away, she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned around, her finger at the ready, but then she saw who it was. "Oh, Daniel," she breathed a sigh of relief when she saw her friend. "I'm so glad it's you and not one of those horrible girls who's been hounding me all day."

"Was what you said in English true?" Daniel asked. "Do you really have a kid?"

"Yeah," Lenora nodded. "His name is Henry."

"Was he planned for?" Daniel asked. "Or did he happen because Mr. Black took you against your will and you got pregnant?"

Lenora stared at him for a few minutes and then came back to herself. "Oh, no!" She assured him. "Henry was wanted by both of us! Granted Grandma wasn't too happy about my keeping him in the beginning, but she got used to it."

"And you're happy?" Daniel asked. "We haven't heard a lot from you since you left."

Lenora sighed. "I know I've been out of reach and I'm sorry. But James and I have a house near my aunt Lucy's now. You could come visit any time you wanted."

"Are you sure it would be safe?" Daniel asked her.

"Yes, of _course_ it would be safe!" Lenora assured him. "James doesn't even do the same job anymore. Grandma had him stop working so he could spend more time with me and Henry. And he's not even bitter about it anymore. Well, not _often_, anyway. Please come. Please!"

Daniel sighed. "Fine, I'll come," he told her. "I promise. I just don't know when."

* * *

"So how was your day?" James asked when Lenora walked through the door. He had Henry on his lap and they were sitting in front of the TV.

Lenora sighed. "It wasn't good. You wouldn't _believe_ the amount of times I got called a slut today."

James' eyebrow rose. "And just what is a slut, exactly?"

"You know," Lenora sat up. "Like a whore. A woman who's too free and easy with her body."

James snorted. "They called you a prostitute? Who did that?"

Lenora shrugged. "Just the other girls. I got through it, though."

"It was not accurate for those girls to call you a prostitute," James told her.

Lenora nodded. "Damn right, it wasn't!"

"Because you're _much_ more talented than the average prostitute!" James continued. "A lot of them would _kill_ to know the techniques that you know."

"And I only know them because of you," Lenora said.

James shrugged. "Hey," he said. "You have to learn somewhere. The point is, don't let it worry you."

"Oh, I won't," Lenora assured him. "I was too mature to say it, but a lot of the girls who mocked me today are the sort who get pregnant early themselves. At least I can say I'm lucky enough that the father of my baby still wants to be around me now that we have him. Most other girls can't say that." She smiled. "So, thank you."

James grinned. "You're welcome, but don't you start getting all emotional on me."

"I'm sorry," she said, coming to sit next to him. "In this case, I can't help it." He handed her Henry and then put his arms around both of them. After a bit, Lenora extracted herself and sat up. "Oh, and by the way," she said. "My friend Daniel, you know, Tobias' son, he's gonna come visit at some point, and when he does, be on your best behavior, okay?"

* * *

Selina opened the door and to her surprise, saw Astrid on the other side. "Astrid?" She asked in surprise. "What are you doing here? Not that you aren't welcome, I mean, but-"

"I just came to see Alistair," Astrid replied cheerfully. "It's been awhile, hasn't it?"

Selina nodded. "I guess. And he more than deserves it. He's been such a help with the kids. I think Elijah and I would have both gone insane if he wasn't here."

"I heard," Astrid grinned. "Triplets."

Selina nodded. "And a few months ago, Elijah's father stopped by, which of course, was a trial."

"I bet it was," Astrid nodded. "Speaking of trials, did you know that Helene and Adrian are in New Orleans now?"

"Yes," Selina nodded. "I heard that, but I haven't heard much else personally. I know Helene is trying to reach out to Felicity though. Klaus showed me one of her letters."

"And how do you feel about that?" Astrid asked her. "Are you okay with it?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" Selina asked. "Felicity is her daughter. And yes, I admit we haven't actually *told* Felicity that yet, but we will, eventually."

"Tell who what?" Elijah called, his voice traveling. When he actually came into the living room with Margaret, he flushed the teeniest bit. "I apologize for how I'm dressed, Astrid," he said to her. "But I have decided that when it comes to small children, the less dressed I am, the more better off I am."

"Oh, I don't mind," Astrid assured him. "It's not like I've never seen a shirtless man before."

With that, Elijah advanced further into the room. "Have you come to see Alistair?"

"Yes," Astrid nodded. "That won't be a problem, will it?"

"No," Elijah shook his head. "Of course not. He should be in in a few minutes and I'm sure he'll be glad to see you."

When Alistair appeared a few minutes later, as Elijah had thought, his eyes brightened at the sight of Astrid. Since he wasn't holding on to any babies, Astrid ran straight into his arms. "I've missed you so much!" She told him.

"Well, I should hope so," Alistair replied. "It's been awhile since we've seen each other."

Astrid nodded. "I know, but you've been busy and I've been busy, so...I just came to say hi, and now that I have, I should probably let you get back to doing whatever it is you do."

"Wait!" Elijah said. "Why don't the two of you go out for the night?"

Alistair turned. "Are you sure?"

"Of course!" Selina replied. "You go out and enjoy yourself and we'll handle things here. If we can't handle our own kids for at least one night, what kind of parents are we?"

"Are you sure?" Alistair asked. "I can stay."

Selina looked at Astrid. "Kiss him now!" She said urgently. "If you don't, he'll most likely convince himself that he doesn't deserve to go out with you and you'll spend the whole night alone!"

Astrid grabbed Alistair and kissed him hard. Alistair was surprised for a moment, then he relaxed and his arms went around Astrid. They kissed for awhile, and then pulled apart. Alistair looked at both Selina and Elijah and smiled. "I'll see you tomorrow," he said. "I don't know when, exactly, but I'll see you tomorrow."

They left and then Selina smiled at Elijah. "Are we good, or are we good?"

Elijah smiled. "We're good," he replied. "We did the right thing."

They sat in silence for a few moments before Selina said, "Everything's quiet. What would you say to taking advantage of an opportunity while we have it?"

Elijah grinned. "Have you ever known me to say 'no'?"

They stood up and ran to the office, locking the door, and making love until the kids finally woke up and interrupted them.

* * *

Klaus watched in amusement as Stefan came into the house looking ill-tempered and wincing. Felicity followed behind him, saying, "It wasn't so bad! Stop being a baby!"

"I refuse to watch that brat anymore," Stefan informed Klaus. "She's _your _problem now."

"Felicity," Klaus addressed her sternly. "What have you done?"

"I didn't do _anything_!" Felicity defended herself. "We were walking around outside and Uncle Stefan was clumsy and fell on his butt."

"Liar!" Stefan cried. "She's lying!"

"Are you lying, Felicity?" Klaus asked. "Tell the truth."

Felicity sighed. "Okay," she said. "I mighta made him trip and fall just a little bit."

"_'Just a little bit'?" _Stefan repeated incredulously. "There was a hole in the woods, you put stuff on top of it so I wouldn't see it, and then you laughed when I fell in the hole!"

"But you had the funniest look on your face!" Felicity replied. "Your eyes were all big and your mouth was wide like this." She did an impression of what Stefan's face looked like when he fell in the hole and although Klaus looked like he wanted to laugh, he restrained himself.

"It's not nice to start fights with people," he told her. "It's one thing to take revenge when people hurt you first, but I don't want you just starting fights for no reason with people who are close to you. Total strangers can be on the end of whatever mischief you want, but I don't want anymore unwarranted attacks on Uncle Stefan, okay?"

"Okay," Felicity nodded, her mouth drooping. She strode over to Stefan and put her arms around him. He stiffened as she said, "I'm very sorry and I promise I won't do anything to you again unless you ask for it."

Stefan pushed her away. "Well, aren't you sweet?" He asked, through his teeth.

"Yes," Felicity smiled back. "I am."

Stefan just continued to scowl. "I'm gonna leave now," he said.

"And where are you planning to go?" Klaus asked.

"Yeah," Felicity added. "You live _here_."

Stefan looked at her severely. "I don't think so," he replied. "I think I've abused your hospitality long enough. I'm gonna go try and find my own place."

He left and Felicity looked at Klaus. "Is it my fault?" She asked quietly. "Did I make him go?"

Klaus sighed. "Who knows?" He replied. "Don't blame yourself. Sometimes people just need to be alone for awhile. He'll probably come back eventually."

But despite Klaus' assurances, Felicity still had trouble believing him. She lay in bed that night, her eyes shut tight, thinking that if she just said she was sorry enough times, then Stefan would come back. But he didn't.

And Felicity tried her best to think of other things that didn't involve Stefan, but it was hard. A few days after Stefan left, Klaus found Felicity in her room, playing with her dolls. He knocked on the door frame and she looked up. "Hi, Daddy," she said quietly.

He sat down next to her. "What are you playing?" He asked.

She shrugged. "Nothing really. Just stuff." She paused a moment and then handed Klaus one of her dolls. "Make it talk to me like Uncle Stefan does," she requested. "Like, say that I'm evil and stuff."

"Why would you want me to say that?" Klaus asked. "You may be mischievous sometimes, but you're not _evil_."

"I _know_ that," Felicity responded. "But it's what Uncle Stefan says. Say it, please."

"All right." Klaus cleared his throat and tried to do his best impression of Stefan. "You're an evil brat and I don't want to deal with you anymore! Get the hell away from me!"

He wiggled the doll menacingly, but Felicity just sighed. "It's not the same," she said sadly. "But thank you for trying, Daddy."

"You're welcome," Klaus replied. "I think we need to get you out of this room. What do you say to going out and getting ice cream?"

"Okay," Felicity nodded. "That might help a little." She stood up, grabbed Klaus' hand, and then the two of them went out for ice cream.

* * *

"Are you okay, Uncle Stefan?" Sam asked. Stefan took another swig of his drink and looked at his nephew. "Yeah," he replied. "Why wouldn't I be?"

Sam sighed. "It's just that you've been at Dad and Lucy's for awhile now and you don't seem well at all. Are you having girl problems?"

"No, I am _not_ having girl problems!" Stefan burst out. "Can we move on to another subject, please?"

"Okay!" Sam sucked in his breath. "I hit a nerve there, I get it."

"Thank you!" Stefan replied. "You do. Damon and Lucy don't seem to. They're always pushing and pushing!"

"They're just worried about you," Sam said. "I mean, I know it's sad that you and Anna split up and she's got a new boyfriend, but-"

"This isn't about-" Stefan began, but stopped talking abruptly. Over his staked, desiccating body was he going to admit to anyone that he actually missed Felicity. He cleared his throat. "I mean, thank you, Sam," he replied. "I'll keep that in mind. You want another drink?"


	35. You're A Star

As Gregory left his last class of the day, he found Katherine standing outside the room. "I'm here," she announced.

"Is that supposed to surprise me?" Gregory asked. "You're here all the time! Every day! What do you want me to do? Throw you a party?"

"Are you okay?" Katherine asked. "You're usually so happy to see me."

"You said you didn't like that, so I'm trying something else," Gregory replied. "Deal with it."

He strode off and Katherine hurried behind him. "Are you mad about what I said to you that one time? About not caring about you?"

"You told the truth," Gregory replied. "Thank you for your honesty."

"Well, you're welcome," Katherine replied. They were silent for a few minutes and then Katherine started to talk again. Gregory shut his eyes. "Stop talking!" He ordered. "Stop it right now! I don't care about anything you say!"

Katherine scoffed. "Well, fine," she said. "Whatever." She drove them home in awkward silence and dropped them off at the front door, then drove away.

"That was the best trip home we've had since she started driving us," Laura remarked. "Whatever you did to her, keep doing it. It's the only way all this will be bearable for me." She grinned and then she and Colin went inside the house. Gregory lingered by the door for awhile after they were gone. "That's just the thing," he said. "I didn't _like_ doing what I did for her." He sighed and went in the house himself, then shut himself in his bedroom for the rest of the evening.

This same pattern continued for a couple more days. On the Friday of that week, the whole school was let out early on account of a teacher-in-service day, which had been announced earlier in the week. Gregory had neglected to tell Katherine about this and had told his mother instead, so it was Selina who met him outside of his classroom. When he saw her, he was so happy that he put his usual reserve aside and gave her a hug.

"Well, that was nice," she replied with a grin when he let her go. "What was it for?"

"He was probably happy that you're not Katherine," Laura replied. "And for the record, I am too. Thanks for coming to pick us up." Like their brother, Laura and Colin hugged Selina too, and then they went out to her car. As they pulled out of the school parking lot, Selina said, "Katherine _did_ know about this early out you had today, right? She's not gonna show up in an hour and a half looking for you and find out that you're already gone?"

"Of course she knows!" Gregory said impatiently. "I wouldn't let her wander around the school aimlessly."

"Well, good," Selina nodded. "I just thought I'd check."

However, Katherine _did_ show up at the school an hour later. Seeing no one in the parking lot, she went inside and found a janitor mopping one of abandoned hallways. "Where _is_ everyone?" She asked, giving him a rough shake. "I have kids to pick up and their father will be angry with me if I don't bring them home!"

"Everyone's all gone," the janitor replied. "All the kids got out early. Your kids probably got picked up by someone else."

Katherine growled. "_Gregory_," She whispered, anger in her voice. The brat had probably known about this all week and had not told her just so she'd show up here and look like a total fool.

"Miss?" The janitor said, "Are you all right?" At this, Katherine growled, again, grabbed the man and sucked him dry. As she let go of his body and watched it hit the floor," She said, "I _was_ mad. But I'm a little better now."

* * *

"Where are we going?" James asked Lenora. They had left Henry with Max and now Lenora was driving him to a location, but she wouldn't tell him where.

Lenora sighed. "Fine," she said. "I'll tell you now. We're going to buy you a suit."

"What do I need a suit for?" James asked. "It's not like I'll ever meet anyone. People are too scared to come near me, and I like that!"

"My friend Daniel is coming to visit, remember?" Lenora asked. "I told you that. And he's still nervous about you and you and me as a couple, so I want to show him that everything is all right."

"And you think forcing me into a suit is gonna undo centuries of a wicked reputation?" James asked skeptically. "Far be it from me to correct you, dear, but it's going to take a lot more than that for your little friend to be comfortable with me."

"Well, fine," Lenora replied, stopping quickly, then abruptly turning to go back to the house, ignoring the shouts of the drivers she'd inconvenienced. "How else would you suggest we put Daniel at ease?"

"I don't know," James replied. "But it would seem to me that lying about who we are is not the way to do it. Let him see the sort of person you've become. It's nothing to be ashamed of. *Are* you ashamed of it?"

"Well, no!" Lenora shook her head. "It's just that Daniel, he-"

"His father is a petty criminal," James reminded her. "And I don't exactly know what his mother is up to, but she's no angel with wings herself. So let young Mr. Potter come see us as we are. I'm sure he can handle it."

Lenora was nervous, but she decided to take James' advice and didn't do _too_ much to the house in anticipation of Daniel's arrival. On the day he was supposed to come over, Lenora gave James one last warning. "I'm not gonna lecture you too much 'cause I know that won't do much good, but please, James, remember that Daniel is a friend of mine and don't deliberately do things that will scare him off. That's not too much to ask, is it?"

"All right, I'll be civil, I promise," James replied, rolling his eyes. Lenora had been holding Henry, but now she handed him to his father. "Here," she said. "Hold him. _No one_ looks threatening when holding a baby."

James decided to keep quiet and when the doorbell rang, he did his best to seem non-threatening like Lenora asked him. She opened the door and invited Daniel to come inside. However, he hovered in the doorway, looking anxious. Finally, James got annoyed and handed Henry back to Lenora. "Come in, would you?" He asked impatiently. "Yes, you think I'm scary. I get it. But your father is a criminal! To act like you're somehow better than us, well that makes you a hypocrite, doesn't it?"

"James," Lenora said warningly. But he acted as if he didn't hear her. Finally, Daniel nodded and came inside. "Thanks," he said quietly. "Thanks for inviting me, Lenora."

Lenora gave James a dirty look, and, taking Daniel's arm, led him to the dining room.

"You know you have a cemetery next door, don't you?" He asked.

"No," James replied sarcastically. "When we bought the place, we completely missed it. What are you, stupid? Of course we know we have a cemetery next door!" He winced as Lenora kicked him.

"You'll have to excuse James," She said. "He's not very good with people."

"Makes sense," Daniel nodded, trying to be agreeable. "So, how long have you been here?"

"Less than a year," James responded. "A few months. Who knows?"

"And did I see a _ship_ in the backyard, or was I imagining things?" Daniel continued.

As much as James didn't like the boy, or having him here, when he asked about the ship, James felt himself soften a little. "No, you weren't hallucinating," he replied. "It's out there for me, my little first mate Henry, and sometimes Lenora too. It's something like a playhouse."

"Oh, how nice," Daniel replied. "But this is a human neighborhood. Don't they question why you have a giant ship in your backyard?"

James nodded. "They did until Lenora asked me to put a cloaking spell on it. Now, the only people who can see it are witches and warlocks."

"Clever," Daniel replied in appreciation.

"Would you like me to show you the inside?" James asked eagerly. "I'd be glad to."

Daniel nodded and as they headed away from the table, Lenora gave James a smile. "Keep this up," she encouraged. "_This_ is how you're supposed to act around company."

James took Daniel on a tour of the ship and then afterward, they came inside and had a cake Lenora had picked up from Selina's bakery. Daniel left in high spirits and promised to come back again some time.

"That went surprisingly well for having such a dubious start," Lenora said when she turned away from the closed front door. "It was fortunate that Daniel brought up the ship."

"I enjoyed showing it to him," James admitted. "And don't worry. I didn't show him our bedroom. But he saw everything else. And...I apologize for my part in making the beginning of the party so unpleasant."

"Why did you do that?" Lenora asked.

"Because I-I don't want to say I feel threatened by him because I _don't_," James replied. "But he knew you from before. He's kind of like your Aunt Lucy. One of those people who look at you and me and always think to themselves that you could have done better. I don't like having those sort of people around."

Lenora sighed and put her arms around him. "I understand," She nodded. "But...and I'll say this again and again if I have to: The purpose of bringing these people into our lives is not because I want them to convince me to leave. I want to show them that I made the right choice, even though they might not understand it, or think it's right. I do. And if they can't accept that, then I'll gladly get them out of my life, but I think it's fair to at least give them a chance to accept us before I throw them away. Don't you think that's fair?"

James nodded. "I guess," he said. "And I promise that for any future parties with those people, I will behave better because believe me, I think you made the right choice just as much as you do."

* * *

"I'm worried about Gregory," Selina told Elijah. "You know he's in love with Katherine, don't you?"

"If he is, I don't think there's anything to worry about," Elijah said to her. "At least not at this point. He's too young. Don't let your negative feelings about Katerina turn this into something bigger than it is."

"This has NOTHING to do with me!" Selina replied. "I couldn't care less about who Gregory has a crush on. It's his own life! The problem is that she upset him and broke his poor little heart and now he doesn't know what to do with himself. He still likes her, but he's keeping her at a distance."

"You know," Elijah told her. "I thought you'd be proud of him for that."

"Why?" Selina asked.

"Because he's not letting his feelings for her get in the way of his own self-worth," Elijah replied. "He's allowing himself to stay in control. _I'm_ proud of him for that, anyway."

"Is it because you know what it feels like to surrender all your emotions to a girl and then have her crush your soul into tiny little pieces cause you let yourself get too emotional and lost control?" Selina asked.

Elijah narrowed his eyes at her. "Perhaps," he replied icily. "But you, of all people, have no room to mock me for that kind of behavior, Lonely Heart."

Selina sighed. "You're right," she replied. "I don't. I'm sorry."

Elijah nodded. "Thank you," he replied. He looked out the window. The rain from earlier in the day had cleared up and the sun was coming out. "What do you say we take the children outside?" He suggested. "Alistair's finished the girls' hair decorations and Tristan's button, so we can take them outside now and not have a thing to worry about."

They put the bows and button on the triplets and took them outside to play, but they hadn't been out long when they saw a bunch of girls coming toward the house.

"It's a little late in the year for cookies, isn't it?" Selina asked, standing up.

"Yes," Elijah nodded. He picked up Margaret in one arm and Tristan in the other. Selina grabbed Annaliese and they all headed to the front of the house where some of the girls had broken from the line to the front door to eagerly and openly peer in the widows. They were all giggling. "Who _are_ all these girls?" Elijah asked Selina. "Do you know any of them?"

Selina looked them over. "Yeah, recognize them. They all go to school with Gregory."

"_All_ of them?" Elijah asked in surprise. "In that case, every girl from his class must be here!"

Just then, the knob to the front door turned and all the girls, some clutching baked goods, tensed in anticipation. When the door opened to reveal a grumpy Laura, they all groaned in disappointment.

"My brother is busy," Laura told them. "Go away and he'll see you all at school tomorrow, all right?"

There were various shouts of "That's not fair!" and "We just want to look a few seconds," but Laura remained firm and finally the girls left.

"What _was_ all that?" Elijah asked.

Laura rolled her eyes. "Don't ask. Gregory's being nice to all the girls at school, you know, helping them carry their books, bringing them flowers if they're sad, blah, blah, blah. So now they all really like him and I'm stuck being his social secretary." She huffed angrily. "I should probably go tell him he missed a bunch of his 'fans'."

She stomped off and Elijah and Selina went inside. After they put the triplets in their rooms, Selina and Elijah sat down in the living room to discuss what they'd just heard.

"Can you believe that Gregory's gotten such a following from all the little girls in his class?" Selina asked in surprise. "I can't believe it."

"Why not?" Elijah asked, looking proud. "He's _clearly_ being very kind and considerate to these girls and they decided to show their appreciation. Given the way boys Gregory's age typically choose to behave, can you blame the girls for latching on to a gallant boy when they see one?"

"Did you not_ see _how many girls were out there?" Selina asked. "_Way_ too many! It's _weird_! Not to mention unhealthy to idolize someone that much."

"Are you worried that the attention will affect Gregory in a negative way?" Elijah asked. "Because I don't think you have to worry. From the way Laura sounded, Gregory knew that the girls were outside, yet he still chose his schoolwork over adoration from throngs of females. I would say he has his priorities straight."

Selina nodded. "There _is _that, but I don't know if the image of a bunch of girls trying to peer in our front windows just to have a look at Gregory will ever be wiped from my mind."

"I could do it for you," Elijah offered.

"I know you can," Selina replied. "But I think I'll stick it out. Thank you for offering, though."

Later that night, she went to knock on Gregory's door.

"Come in," he called. She went in and found him sitting on his bed, reading a book.

"Can we talk about the horde of girls that came to the house today?" Selina asked.

Gregory looked up at her and put his book down. "Oh, them. Don't worry about it. They just like me, that's all."

"Well, there was an _awful_ lot of them," Selina replied, sitting next to him. "What do you do to inspire such adoration? Your father is proud of your 'gallant behavior' by the way."

Gregory shrugged. "I'm nice, that's all. And some of them seem to think I'm handsome too."

Selina smiled and ran her fingers through his dark hair. "Well, thanks to your father, you're certainly not bad-looking. Why didn't you come out and talk to them? It was clearly what they wanted."

Gregory shrugged. "I know that, but I can't be a hero all the time. I had lots of important school work to get done, so I decided to send Laura out instead to tell them all that I would see them tomorrow."

"Well, I admire your dedication to your schoolwork," Selina praised. "But don't turn your sister into your social secretary. It's not fair to her."

"What if I pay her money?" Gregory asked. "She probably won't object if I pay her money."

"A good idea, but where do you plan on getting the money to give her?" Selina asked. "Do you have any?"

"No," Gregory shook his head. "But _you_ could give me some to give to her, right?"

"No," Selina shook her head. "Why don't we just do this the easy way and you stop making Laura be your social secretary. She's your sister, not your lackey and you have to respect that."

Gregory sighed. "Oh, all right," he replied. "The next time the girls come, I'll talk to them."

"And you can tell them to stay away from our house," Selina added. "Your father and I would appreciate that very much."

Gregory nodded. Selina left and he continued to read until his bedtime. After his parents turned off his light, he lay awake for a few minutes before pulling a small portrait of Katherine that he'd taken from his father's office out from underneath his pillow. "I'm sorry for what I did to you today," he said to it. "I know it wasn't nice, but you aren't either, and I shouldn't have to put up with that. I _won't_ put up with it, even though I like you. I deserve better and I hope someday you'll feel like you can finally give me that. Until then, though, things will have to stay the way they are. Goodnight, Katherine." He looked at it for another long moment, put it back under his pillow, and fell asleep.


	36. Full of Surprises

Lucy was surprised to see James standing on the other side of her and Damon's front door. "Yes?" She inquired. "Can I help you with something?"

"I have a question to ask you," James told her. "May I come in?"

"Sure," Lucy nodded. "Why not?"

They went inside to sit down and when they were both comfortable, Lucy asked, "What's on your mind?"

"When's Lenora's birthday?" James asked. "It has to be soon, doesn't it?"

"It_ is_," Lucy nodded. "Why do you want to know?"

"Because I want to give her a birthday party," James replied. "And not just a birthday party. A _surprise_ party."

"Wonderful idea!" Lucy complimented, feeling very impressed. "I have some friends at a country club who-"

"If you don't mind," James interrupted, "I'd like to plan it myself. I only came to ask you what day it needs to be planned by. You and Damon are invited of course. If you feel coming to our humble abode won't be too much for your fragile sensibilities."

"I'll come!" Lucy replied, feeling offended. "I'm not a snob!"

"I never said you were," James replied.

"Yes, you did!" Lucy shot back. Before James could reply, his phone rang. He was still getting used to having it, but Lenora had insisted so she could get a hold of him easier. He pressed the button and shouted into the phone. "Hi!" He cried. "Lenora, what do you want?"

"I want you to stop shouting," Lenora replied. "I told you, this phone is no different than the one we have at home. You can use a normal voice."

"Oh," James replied. "Sorry." He put the phone to his ear. "I'm just out and about," he told her. "Do you need me to rush home?"

"No," Lenora replied. "You do what you need to and I'll be at home waiting for you."

James turned his phone off just as Damon and Sam came in the room. "Jimmy!" Damon cried. "Great to see you! What brings you here?"

"I came to ask when Lenora's birthday is," James told him. "I want to throw Lenora a surprise party."

"Do you?" Damon asked. "Sounds great."

James nodded. "I hope it will be," he replied. "So just when is it? The date of her birthday, I mean?"

"It's in a week," Lucy replied. "Are you sure that will be enough time for you to plan?"

"It should be," James replied. "It might not be enough time for me to plan something of _your_ standards, but I'll have no problem meeting mine or Lenora's. Thanks for your help." He left and Lucy looked at Damon. "Not a nice guy, is he?"

Damon shrugged. "I think he's okay. Why don't you like him? Because he's taking Lenora away? We talked about that, remember?"

"No, it's not that!" Lucy yelled. "I've accepted the fact that Lenora is with him, all right? I can deal with it. But where does that leave _me_?"

"What do you mean?" Damon asked.

Lucy sighed. "I mean, look at my siblings: Roxie and Adrian are so much more fun than me. And Dad, and Mom. I'm just the boring, serious one who doesn't know how to have fun, which means I'm not gonna fit in and I'm gonna end up all alone!"

"Don't be silly!" Damon replied. "That's what you've got me for! James said we're both invited. "We'll go in a week and all you'll have to do is follow my lead."

* * *

"I'm sorry if I inconvenienced you by being at your house for so long today," Lenora apologized a week later. "I know you probably had other things you would have much rather done without me underfoot."

"Don't be silly," Lucy told her. "Today is your birthday and we wanted to celebrate it with you. You being at our house was not a problem."

They drove up the driveway of James and Lenora's house and Lucy let out a shriek. "There is a damn huge pirate ship in your yard!"

"Oh," Lenora replied, looking sheepish. "Yeah, I told James he could take the cloaking spell off it just for today."

They all got out of the car and Lucy kept looking up at the pirate ship in shock. Damon had to keep hold of her so that she wouldn't bump into anything. They reached the boat (which was festively decorated for Lenora's birthday) and went inside. It was very dark and when they reached one of the rooms, the lights suddenly went on and James, Max and Daniel yelled  
"Surprise!" Henry would've if he could, but all he could do was dribble.

"Wait!" Lenora said in amazement. "Is this a surprise party for _me_?"

"Yes," James replied. Then he looked uncertain. "Do you like it? I know there aren't very many people, but-" Lenora cut him off as she ran to him and kissed him hard. "Thank you!" She exclaimed. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Then she took Henry from Max. Henry was wearing a party hat, but didn't seem to be enjoying the experience much and after Lenora took it off him, he seemed much happier.

"So, what do we want to start with?" Lucy asked. "Cake, or presents?"

"I think _you_ should start with a drink," James replied. "Come on, what will you have?"

"I don't know," Lucy said. "I've not drunk much before. You don't have lemonade, do you?"

"No," James replied. "Nothing like that."

"Oh, come on," Lenora told James. "If she doesn't want to drink, she shouldn't have to drink." Then, Damon whispered in Lucy's ear. "This is exactly how you can start fitting in," he remarked.

"By giving in to peer pressure?" Lucy asked. "Come on, I'm smarter than that!"

"It's not peer pressure if you're old enough to drink and you _are_!" Damon replied. "And even your wonderful uncle Elijah has a drink every once in awhile. It's not a bad thing."

Lucy sighed. "Fine," she said. "Give me whatever you've got."

James poured her a large glass of rum, and then watched her eagerly to see her reaction. He thought she was gonna hate it at first, but she took a liking to it and quickly downed the glass, asking for another.

After James poured it, Lenora took him into a corner. "What are you doing? Why are you getting my Aunt Lucy drunk?"

James sighed. "Come on, darling!" He said. "It's a party! People drink at parties. And that includes you. It probably wouldn't hurt you to have a little."

"Technically I'm not old enough," Lenora pointed out.

"You've had a kid, you and I are living together, you're old enough," James said. "Come on, just a little one now, please? Just think of the games we'll be able to play! I'll be the dashing pirate and you can be my saucy wench-"

"Not in front of Aunt Lucy, I hope," Lenora replied. "You know how sensitive she is to stuff like that."

"Something tells me that after another mug or two of rum, she's not gonna mind so much," James replied. "Max is watching Henry so we can have all the fun we want and not worry about a thing!"

"Did you give Max time to have fun too?" Lenora asked. "Having him do all the work while we have all the fun is really not fair to him."

"Don't worry," James assured her. "He'll have his fun."

They got the cake and when they went back into the main room, they found Daniel sitting awkwardly by himself while Damon and Lucy made out in a corner.

"Well, well, well," James smiled appreciatively. "Nice to see your aunt finally enjoying herself. What do you say we follow her lead?"

"Not until I have cake," Lenora replied. They had a few drinks themselves and then James called Max to bring the cake out.

"You want me to get silverware too?" Max asked when he plunked the cake down on the table.

"No, thank you," James replied. "We'll manage."

Looking doubtful, Max left and then Lenora looked at James. "How are we supposed to eat cake without silverware?"

"I would think it would be quite easy," James replied, grabbing hunk of cake off the side and shoving it into Lenora's face. "See?" He asked, laughing. "I told you. Easy." Her eyes narrowed and her face covered in cake, Lenora grabbed another chunk and smeared it all over James. They continued this for a little while longer before James decided to pitch some cake in Lucy and Damon's and Daniel's directions. Lucky for him, it was a large cake.

When the piece hit Damon on the side of the face, he immediately broke away from a half-dressed Lucy and began throwing cake back too. Lucy and Daniel joined him and pretty soon, everything and _everyone _was covered in cake.

"Damn!" James remarked when he looked around the room. "We forgot about the candles!" Lenora picked a candle up. "Wanna light it?" She asked. James clumsily lit the match and then lit the candle. Lenora handed it to him. He held it as steady as he could, then she leaned forward and blew it out. Afterward, she fell upon him and then they made out under the cake table, undressing each other and advancing to sex soon after.

* * *

The next morning, James swore as he sat up and hit his head on the underside of the cake table. "Damn!" He sucked in his breath. "That was so-" He tried to finish his thought but got distracted when he noticed Lenora's naked body next to him. She _was_ a beautiful girl. There was no doubt about that.

Just then, she stirred, her eyes opening. "Oh, god!" She groaned. "My head hurts."

"It's called a hangover, dear," he said, grinning. "It happens when you drink."

"You _knew_ this was gonna happen to me and you let me drink so much anyway?" Lenora asked grumpily. "What kind of a man are you? If my head didn't hurt so much, I'd hit your stupid face!" She winced.

James just kissed her. "I'm the kind of man who wants you to have fun on your birthday," he told her. "And you had fun. I know you did. Admit it."

"All right," Lenora nodded. "I had fun. You did a good job."

"And how about after everyone leaves, you and I have _more _fun?" He asked with a wink.

"All right," Lenora nodded. "But I'm not drinking for that. You'll have no choice but to deal with a _sober_ saucy wench!"

James shrugged as he and Lenora got out from under the table. "That doesn't bother me," he replied. "I'll take you either way."

"All right," Lenora nodded, grabbing a shirt from under the table and putting it over herself. "But first we have to clean this room. It's a mess."

"Don't think of it as a mess!" James told her. "Think of it as the sign of a good time."

Lenora rolled her eyes and cleaned the room just as Damon and Lucy woke up.

"Oh, god," Lucy replied. "Never again!"

"Why not?" Damon asked. "You seemed like you were having a good time!"

"Well, all right," Lucy amended. "Maybe I'll do it again. But not for a _very_ long time." She looked at Lenora. "Are you hungover too?"

Lenora put a hand to her head. "Would you be mad at me if I said 'Yes'?"

"No," Lucy shook her head. "All that matters is that you enjoyed your birthday."

"I did," Lenora nodded. "But if this is how I'll be celebrating all my birthdays, I have to say I'm glad the next one won't be for a year. I'll need that long to recover." She got dressed, said goodbye ti everyone, and then she and James opened her presents.

* * *

Felicity came into the kitchen crying.

"What's the matter, pet?" Klaus asked. "Why are you crying?"

"Cause I can't do magic anymore!" Felicity sobbed. "Ever since Uncle Stefan went away, I can't do it!"

"I'm sure there's a reason for it," Klaus told her. "We'll just call Alistair and have him take a look at you."

Alistair appeared half an hour later.

"So what's the problem?" He asked her.

She shrugged. "I just can't do magic. See?" She tried to make one of the cups from her tea set rise in the air a few times, but nothing happened. Then she tried a few other simple bits of magic with the same result.

"Am I broken, Daddy Alistair?" She asked, her voice full of worry.

"Well," Alistair replied, "Sometimes, if a witch or warlock is really upset about something, it stops their powers. Are you upset about something?"

"Yes!" Felicity cried with feeling. "Uncle Stefan left and that made me sad!"

"Well, that explains why your powers are out. You're not broken. You just need to start thinking about happy things and your powers will come back."

"Okay," Felicity nodded. "I'll try." She hugged him. "Thank you, Daddy Alistair."

"You're welcome," Alistair replied. He let her go and then left. Felicity tried to focus on pleasant things, like chocolate cake and the funny look her uncle Stefan had had when he fell in the hole in the woods. Then she tried to raise the teacup again. Nothing.

Klaus watched her and sensed more frustration was going to show itself, so he tried to head it off.

"How about we get out of the house for awhile?" He suggested. "I'll take you somewhere very fun. It's called Enid's and there will be lots of people there that you'll like. How about it?"

Felicity sighed. "I don't think it will work, but okay."

Klaus gave her a smile and the two of them drove to Enid's. They sat down at a table and Enid approached them. "Well, well," she said. "Look who finally decided to show his face. I was beginning to think you hated us or something."

"No, of course I don't hate you!" Klaus said. He gestured at Felicity. "This is the reason I haven't come by lately. Felicity, this is Enid. Enid, this is Felicity."

"Hi." Felicity waved half-heartedly and didn't meet Enid's eyes.

"What's wrong with you?" Enid asked.

"I miss my Uncle Stefan!" She burst out. "I made him mad and he left and he won't come back!"

"Theirs is a complicated relationship, Enid," Klaus added, running his fingers through Felicity's hair as she buried her face in his arm.

"I see," Enid replied. "Just _how_ complicated?"

"I think that if she was a little older, it might improve things between them," Klaus replied. "Could you make them the same age? Just for a little bit, anyway? She's having trouble with her magic and Alistair thinks it's because she's upset. And getting along with Stefan might make her feel better."

"I suppose that could work," Enid replied. "And it wouldn't even have to be permanent. How many years would I have to add to her age so that she and Stefan are the same?"

"I don't know," Klaus shrugged. "Maybe ten years."

"How old are you now, sweetie?" Enid asked.

"I'm seven," Felicity told her, putting seven fingers up.

"All right," Enid nodded. "Do you _want_ me to make you the same age as your uncle Stefan?"

"Will it be forever?" Felicity asked.

"No," Enid shook her head. "Not forever. Just long enough for you two to be friends again."

"I just realized something," Klaus said. "What if she's _pretty_ when she's seventeen years old and Stefan falls in love with her or something? I'm beginning to detest this idea."

"Okay, here's what we'll do," Enid told him. "We'll make her older, but if she and Stefan kiss, she'll turn back immediately and be seven again. Will that be all right?"

"Yes," Klaus nodded. "I suppose that would be good enough."

* * *

Stefan wasn't faring much better than Felicity, although he kept trying to convince himself he was fine. No one believed him, though. Not even himself.

"So," Damon said when they were at a bar one day. "Sam told me you're moping. Why? It can't be because of Anna. I thought you would have made peace with that by now."

Stefan nodded. "I have. Can we just let this go, please?"

"Is it another girl?" Damon pressed. "I've wondered what made you suddenly decide to leave Klaus' and come back to live with me."

"I left because I needed my space," Stefan replied. "That brat granddaughter of his was becoming too much for me to deal with."

A grin curved Damon's lips. "Granddaughter? You mean that little girl you were with at the playground? The cute blonde one?"

"Yeah, her." Stefan nodded. "And she's _not_ cute. She's a little menace."

Damon smirked. "If only she were ten years older, she'd be perfect for you. Hey!" His eyes suddenly lit up. "You know, I see Lenora pretty much every week now. I could ask her to put the same spell on Felicity that she put on Lucy so you won't have to wait ten years."

"No!" Stefan replied quickly, his eyes wide. "Damn it, Damon! If there's anything I_ don't _need in my life right now, it's Felicity with a chest, all right?"

"Fine," Damon replied. "But I_ do _think you like her."

"How many drinks have you had?" Stefan asked. "I think you've had too many."

"I've had fewer than you," Damon replied. "So, what are you gonna do?"

"What am I gonna do about what?" Stefan asked testily.

"This crush on Felicity," Damon said.

"For the last time," Stefan replied, trying to keep hold of his temper. "I don't have a crush on Felicity, all right? I'm gonna go now. Goodbye."

He left, and just as he got out of the bar, his phone beeped. He looked at the message and groaned. It was from Felicity, who had somehow gotten her hands on Klaus' phone. "I'm sad," it said. "Please come back." Stefan shut his eyes tight, deleted the message, and continued on his way. He wasn't sure where he wanted to go, but he knew that going back to Damon and Lucy's was out of the question. He knew that if he went back, he'd have to face more interrogation about Felicity and he just didn't want to deal with that. He needed a woman. He didn't care who it was, just someone who he could talk to, at the very least, and if she ended up in bed with him afterward, so much the better.

But the streets seemed devoid of people and finally he decided that the best thing to do (even though he hated the idea) was to go back to Klaus'. He was just down the street from the house when someone bumped into him and sent him sprawling face first on the pavement.

"Oh, god!" She cried. "I'm so sorry! Sometimes I just completely lose track of things and don't look where I'm going."

"It's all right," Stefan replied, getting up. "I'm not hurt." He got to his feet and found himself face to face with a cute blonde who had big blue eyes. This was Felicity under the influence of the spell she'd gotten from Enid, but Stefan wasn't supposed to know that. She smiled shyly. "Sorry again," she replied.

"Oh, it's all right," Stefan assured her. "I've never minded running into a pretty girl before."

Felicity grinned. "You think I'm pretty? You're so nice! No one but my father's ever told me that before."

Stefan grinned. "Well, that's their loss." He looked around. She seemed to be all by herself.

"What are you doing out here all alone?" He asked.

"Oh, um, well," Felicity stammered. "I was just going out for a walk, but I'm almost done now."

"Really?" Stefan asked. "I could take you with me if you want. The place where I'm going is nearby too."

"Is it really?" Felicity asked, trying not to laugh.

"Yeah," Stefan nodded. He gave her the address. "It's a nice place, really."

Felicity sighed. "I know this might seem like a strange question since, you know, we just met and all, but do you think your friend would be willing to take me in for a bit?" She asked. "The place where I normally stay is...being fumigated for bugs and I can't go back there for awhile."

"Sure," Stefan nodded. "I'll see what I can do for you." He led Felicity up to Klaus' front door, and knocked three times. Klaus opened the door. "Stefan!" He said. "You came back!"

"Yeah, well, Damon and Lucy were getting to be a little too much so I figure between them and Felicity, she's the lesser evil. So would you mind taking me in again? And my friend here?"

Felicity and Klaus' eyes met and they both tried not to laugh. Unlike Stefan, Klaus was fully aware who the girl next to him really was. "All right," Klaus told Stefan. "I guess she can stay since Felicity's...out for awhile."

"What?" Stefan asked in surprise. "She's gone? Where did she go?"

"I thought that wouldn't matter to you," Klaus replied slyly. "I thought all she did was make you irritated."

"Well, yeah, she does!" Stefan answered. "But-sorry," he told Felicity, who was looking very intrigued. "We're talking about his...daughter. She and I have a very complicated relationship."

Felicity grinned. "You don't say," she replied.

"How about you two come inside, then?" Klaus asked. "What do you say?"

Much to Felicity's surprise, Stefan held his hand out to her after he made his way up the three steep front steps. "Need some help?" He asked her.

She nodded and put her hand in his. "Thank you," she said. "What a nice thing for you to do." Stefan put his arm around her and they went inside the house, the front door closing and locking behind them.


	37. The Coming Attraction

As Klaus led Stefan and Felicity away from the front door, he gave the two of them a look. "Let's think about this," he said. "Stefan, you could go back to your old room, but young lady, I'll have to think about where to put you. My daughter's bed would be too small-"

"If you can't find any other room, she can sleep with me," Stefan said. "I wouldn't mind."

Klaus' eyes widened. "No!" He said quickly. "Not a chance of that!"

"Why not?" Stefan asked.

"It's all right," Felicity told him. "I don't mind having a different room."

Sighing in exasperation, Stefan went to his own room and Felicity went to hers. When it was finally time for them to go to sleep, Stefan lay awake in bed. He had no idea why Klaus hadn't let him share a bed with the pretty girl. Finally, he got out of bed and peered out his door into the dark hallway. He figured Klaus was asleep by now. He left his room and, being as quiet as he could be, looked around for the room where he'd put the girl. He was walking past the bathroom when the door opened and hit him in the face. He fell to the floor and Felicity peeked around. "Oh, god!" She cried, getting down on her knees next to Stefan. "I just keep hurting you, don't I? Are you okay?"

Stefan sat up. "It's okay," he said. "I was looking for you. I wondered if you needed someone to stay in your room with you, cause some people can't stay in strange houses by themselves."

Felicity helped him to his feet. "Well, I'm fine, but if you got up just to look for me, I suppose the least I can do is keep you company for the rest of the night. We just won't tell your friend. Okay?"

Stefan nodded. "All right," he told her. She took his hand and together they carefully made their way to her room. She turned on the light and said, "Here we are."

Stefan looked at the twin bed that was up against the wall. "The bed is a little small, isn't it?" He asked.

Felicity shook her head. "No," she replied. "It's big enough for me."

"But where am _I_ supposed to sleep?" Stefan asked.

Felicity shrugged. "I don't know," she said. She opened the closet and found blankets and a pillow in there. "Here," she replied, throwing them at him. "There's lots of room on the floor."

"On the floor?" Stefan asked. "_Really_?"

"Well, where were you _expecting_ to sleep?" Felicity asked.

"In the bed with you," Stefan replied. "I thought that would be obvious."

"But there's not enough room," Felicity pointed out. "We wouldn't both fit."

Stefan sighed. This was getting him nowhere. "All right," he sighed. "Fine. I'll just sleep on the damn floor. Let's not make it more difficult than it has to be."

"All right," Felicity replied, turning off the lights. "Whatever you say."

* * *

A week later, Stefan still hadn't made much headway with the girl, whose name, he finally learned, was Joy.

"So you've lived in the same house as her for a week and nothing has happened?" Damon asked him. "Hell, Stefan. I thought you were better than that."

"I _know_," Stefan replied, downing a shot. "I don't know what the problem is. I've made it _very_ clear that I want to be with her, but she doesn't seem to get the point."

Damon thought a moment. "Maybe you're being too subtle," he suggested. "How have you been trying to get her attention?"

"Well," Stefan replied, "the first night we met, I literally bumped into her and she told me that she didn't have anywhere to stay, so I took her back to Klaus' with me. Klaus got separate rooms for us, but later that night, I bumped into her _again_ on my way to the bathroom and she said she wouldn't mind sharing a room with me. I thought it was gonna be easy. She brought me to her room and then you know what she did? She gave me a pillow and some blankets and told me to sleep on the floor! I've been nice to her, we've spent time together, but nothing's come of it!"

"It sounds to me like what you've got is either a girl with principles or a boyfriend," Damon replied. "Proceed with caution. You don't want to risk alienating her. So I would say, take it slow, keep being nice to her, and then maybe you'll be able to work her out of whatever shell she's in." He paused. "Maybe you could try taking her out," he suggested. "You could come on a double date with me and Lucy."

"Okay," Stefan nodded. "She might be more open if she knows we're not gonna be alone together. That's a start. Let's do it."

* * *

"So where exactly are we going?" Felicity asked Stefan a few days later.

"We're going to meet my brother and his girlfriend for lunch. You don't mind, do you?"

"No!" Felicity shook her head. "I would_ love _to meet your brother! Is he as nice as you?"

"No," Stefan grinned. "I'm _much _nicer."

Felicity smiled. "I believe that," she said. "What are we gonna say when they ask how we met?"

Stefan shrugged. "We'll just say we ran into each other, started a conversation, and everything worked out well from there. It's true, isn't it?" He paused. "And it's sort of what I've already told him."

Felicity nodded. "I guess that's the story then. How long until we leave? Do I have time to change?"

"Yeah," Stefan nodded. "Sure."

Felicity went into her room and opened her empty closet, shutting her eyes and flicking her hand. When she opened her eyes, the closet was full of dresses in several colors, all her size. Smiling, she took a blue one out and put it on. It was low-cut and emphasized her new figure. She went into the bathroom and looked herself over. "I'm very pretty!" She told herself in approval. Only problem was, she couldn't get the zipper up in the back. She went downstairs where Stefan was waiting. When he saw her, he grinned, his eyes roaming down her body. "Hey!" She said finally. "Can you help me with my zipper?"

"What?" He asked. "Sorry."

"Would you help me with my zipper?" She repeated.

Stefan came up behind her and slowly pulled her zipper up. She put on a pair of heels and tried to walk, but slipped, and Stefan caught her. "Sorry this is getting to be such a habit," she apologized.

"No," Stefan assured her, holding onto her tight. "I don't mind at all, honestly." He held her a little longer and then let her go. "Maybe you should change your shoes," he suggested.

"All right," she replied, taking off her shoes and running up the stairs. When she came back, she was wearing a pair of white and blue sneakers. "I know this sort of looks odd," she told Stefan. "But at least I can walk now, right?" She gave him a small smile.

Stefan nodded. "Yes," he told her. "Being able to walk is a definite plus." However, even though she _could_ walk steadily now, she held his hand until they got out to the car, got in, and drove to the restaurant.

* * *

"So tell me," Lucy said to Damon as she put her napkin in her lap. "This new girl of Stefan's: what's she like? Has he told you?"

Damon shook his head. "I don't know much, but she sounds_ completely_ wrong for him, if you ask me. Too many principles."

"You can't use that as a reason!" Lucy replied. "Look at you and me! I have principles and that doesn't seem to bother you!"

"There are other reasons besides just principles that make me feel the two of them aren't suited for each other," Damon told her. "When they get here, you'll see." A few minutes later, he saw Stefan and the girl making their way toward the table.

"Sorry if we're a little late," the girl apologized. "I had a little problem with my shoes. I'm Joy."

"Damon," Damon introduced himself, shaking her hand. "And this is my girlfriend. I'll let her introduce herself."

"Lucy," Lucy replied with a grin. "So glad to see that Stefan's finally found someone. We were getting a little worried about him, if I'm going to be totally honest. He was spending all his time moping about a little girl named Felicity. She really riled him up."

"I'm sure she didn't mean to," Joy replied. "Maybe she was just trying to get his attention the only way she knew how and he was too dumb to notice."

"Wow," Damon replied, looking at the girl in amazement. "Really blunt, aren't you?"

Joy shrugged. "I don't know. I was just thinking of reasons. I wasn't trying to be mean or anything."

"You just called me 'dumb'," Stefan said. "How is that not being mean?"

"I was just saying that maybe the Felicity girl liked you and wanted your attention, but you didn't give it to her because you don't know what's good for you when you have it," Joy said through her teeth.

"Felicity is seven years old!" Stefan replied. "What am I supposed to do with a seven year old?"

"There are lots of things you could do!" Joy replied. "You could read to her, you could play games with her, you could, um...well, just trust me about this! But you don't want to because you hate her."

"What does she matter anyway?" Stefan asked. "We shouldn't even be talking about her! I want to talk about you and me. I like you! I can do all sorts of things with you that I can't do with her because you're close to my age and she's not, all right? End of discussion."

After this pronouncement, Joy's face changed. "You know what?" She said, relaxing. "You're totally right about it being easier for you to relate to me than some seven year old. I'm sorry I bit your head off."

"Thank you," Stefan nodded. "Can we talk about something else now?"

"Sure," Joy nodded and looked at Damon. "So," she said. "Stefan says he's the nicer brother. Is that true?"

Damon laughed a little. "Well, it depends on who you ask," he replied. "I, for one, think I am _incredibly_ nice."

"I agree," Lucy replied. "He has his moments. They're both good in their own ways." The waiter came to take drink orders and as he walked away, Lucy said to Joy, "Are you going to school around here?"

"Yeah," Joy replied, forgetting that she was older. "I'm in the first grade."

"The first grade?" Damon asked. "Aren't you seventeen?"

"Oh," Felicity nodded. "First grade of, um...What I mean to say is that I'm in high school and I help volunteer with first graders."

"You do?" Lucy said with admiration. "How nice! Do you like it?"

"Yeah, I do," Joy nodded. "I feel like I really relate to them, so that makes teaching them easy."

"Are you gonna be a teacher?"

"I don't know," Felicity shrugged. "Maybe."

"Sorry about all the questions," Lucy told her. "I'm just really fascinated by people who give their time to help other people, especially when it comes to learning. That doesn't really seem to be a big deal anymore."

"Lucy's a genius," Damon told her.

"Oh, stop!" Lucy flushed. "I'm not a _genius!_" She paused. "Okay, maybe I am just a little bit. But it's not something I like to brag about."

They talked and ate some more and over dessert, Damon broached a subject that he hoped would show Lucy the main issue between Stefan and Joy.

"So," he said to Joy, "Have you and Stefan had sex yet?"

"What?" Joy asked. "What are you _talking_ about?"

Damon winced as Stefan kicked him under the table, but repeated the question. "Have the two of you had sex yet?"

"I don't know what that is," Joy replied, looking at Stefan uncertainly. "Have we?"

"No," Stefan told her. "It's okay that we haven't, though."

Lucy saw the discomfort in Joy's face and stood up, pulling Damon up with her. "Come on," she said. "I think we need to talk." She pulled Damon off into a corner far away from the table and punched him in the arm. "What the hell did you have to go and ask her that question for? Can't you see that it made her uncomfortable?"

"I don't see what was so wrong," Damon said. "You know how my brother is. He deserves to be with someone who will sleep with him. She's probably from a nutty family that thought sex was evil!"

"That doesn't matter!" Lucy scolded. "Sex is not a 'must' in a relationship, and if those two like each other like I think they do, you shouldn't interfere and fuck things up!"

Damon shrugged. "Fine," he said. "But when Stefan gets cranky cause he hasn't gotten any in awhile and comes to me complaining about it, I'm blaming you."

"Fine," Lucy replied. "Whatever."

By the time they returned to the table, Joy and Stefan were gone.

"Great," Damon replied, sitting down heavily in his chair. "Not only did they leave without saying goodbye, they stuck us with the check, too."

* * *

"What was Damon talking about?" Felicity asked Stefan when they got home. "What's sex?"

"Why are you asking?" Stefan asked. "Do you really not know? I figure at your age, someone would have told you."

"No," Felicity shrugged. "They haven't. So _you_ have to tell me."

"Oh, shit," Stefan breathed, running his fingers through his hair. "Give me a minute, would you?"

"Okay," Felicity nodded. "I can wait."

Finally, Stefan got his bearings. "Sex is why I wanted to share a bed with you the first night you were here," he told her. "I thought you were pretty and nice and I wanted to have sex with you."

"Okay," Felicity nodded. "But what _is_ it?"

"Two people basically get naked together, certain parts of their bodies connect, and it feels really, really good." Stefan told her. "That's the most basic way I can describe it. Please don't make me talk about it anymore."

"Do you _want _to have sex with me?" Felicity asked.

"Yes!" Stefan nodded. "Yes, I do!" He leaned forward to kiss her, but she leaned back. "No!" She said, putting her fingers on his lips. "We can't! It will ruin everything! I want more time! I like being big!"

"Time for what?" Stefan asked. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh, nothing," Felicity shrugged. "Nothing you need to worry about." She got up and ran out of the room, leaving Stefan alone. He groaned. "That wasn't how I wanted that to go _at all_," he said to himself.

* * *

While Katherine waited outside Gregory's last class (to make sure she didn't miss him this time) a girl came walking up to her. "Are you waiting for him too?" She asked.

"Who?" Katherine replied.

"Gregory," she answered, sighing. "Isn't he _wonderful_?"

"He has his moments," Katherine conceded. "But really, he's no more wonderful than any other boy."

The little girl looked scandalized. "Are you _crazy_?" She asked. "How can you _say _that about him?" But then her face relaxed. "Well, you_ are _kind of old," she said. "So I can see why you wouldn't think he's as great as the rest of us do. I feel sorry for you because of that."

Just then, Gregory came out of the classroom, completely ignoring Katherine. He made a beeline for the girl instead."Hi, Jessica," he greeted her. "How are you?" The girl's jaw dropped a little and her grip went slack. Her books fell to the floor and Gregory picked them up for her. "Here you go," he said.

"Thank you," She replied. "I was just having a talk with your mother here, and-"

"She's _not_ my mother!" Gregory cut the girl off swiftly. "She's-she's a bitch from hell, that's what she is! Let's get away from her, shall we?" He hustled the girl away as the girl, seeming shocked that Gregory had used such language, tried to get a better look at Katherine.

"Just how are you planning on getting home?" Katherine called to him. "I'm not waiting around forever!"

"I can call Mom," Gregory replied. "She's always available. Goodbye!"

* * *

"So what was it this time?" Selina asked. "Did Katherine forget to show up today, or something?"

"No," Gregory shook his head. "I just didn't feel like going home with her, that's all. And I told her that."

"Were you at least tactful?" Selina asked. "Not that I really care, but your father would want to make sure you're learning to be considerate about other people's feelings."

"Why should I be considerate of _her_ feelings if she isn't considerate of mine?" Gregory asked. "I'm_ not_ stupid!"

"I didn't say you're stupid," Selina replied. "But sometimes, whether we like it or not, someone has to be the bigger person and since you're the one who actually has a heart, you have to be the mature one. Be better than her. Be kind. And if you can't be kind, at least don't be belligerent and pick fights. That's beneath you."

"Okay," Gregory rolled his eyes. "I'll be not mean to her. I'll just leave her alone and not let her being stupid get to me."

"There you go," Selina nodded. "That's really all anyone can ask of you."

* * *

"Nice place," The guy said that night as Katherine led him inside her apartment.

She scoffed. "Shut up!" She replied. "I didn't bring you here to talk!"

He removed his shirt with a grin. "I don't think I have to ask what you brought me here for, pretty lady." He stood in front of a mirror and flexed. "Damn, I look good!"

"Get on the bed," Katherine said through her teeth. "_Now._"

He burst out laughing and got on the bed next to her. "I like a girl who doesn't waste time."

They both undressed and got down to business. Katherine didn't feel like doing anything for him, so she basically just lay there and let him do all the work. Eventually, she drifted off, dreaming that another man had taken up residence in her bed. He had dark hair, dark eyes, and big muscles.

"Who _are _you?" She asked, confused. Although she could swear that she'd never seen him before, he looked familiar.

"Don't you recognize me, Katherine?" He asked her. "It's Gregory."

Katherine's eyes widened. "Gregory? What the hell! You look so...so..."

"I believe 'handsome' is the word you're looking for," Gregory finished for her. "Or 'studly'. I'll take either one." He reached out for her and pulled her to him, kissing her roughly. She struggled for a few seconds and then relaxed. After a little while, he broke the kiss, tearing off what little clothing she had on, and taking masterful control of her body. Every time she tried to take control away from him, his dark eyes would flash, and he'd smirk and shake his head. He made love like a man who knew that he was good and made no apologies. By the time he finally let her go and she flopped back on the pillow, she was breathing hard and feeling as if all the energy had been sucked out of her.

"Oh, my god," she said. She turned to look over at him, but he barely looked winded.

"More," she whispered, hating herself for it. As he got off the bed, she reached for him. "Stay," she asked. "Please."

"No," he shook his head. "I'm done with you. At least for now, anyway." He then turned away from her, strode out the door, and left her alone. Then, suddenly, she heard a voice that seemed to be coming from the very walls. It was male and one she didn't recognize.

"Hey," it said. "Wake up, would you?"

She woke up and found herself face to face with a strange man. "You fell asleep," he said smugly. "I must've worn you out, right?"

"Right," Katherine replied. "Exactly.

"So," He continued. "What did you dream about? Me?"

"Actually, no," She said. She sat up and grinned at him. "But being with you here now is just as much of a nightmare as what I saw in my head. I need to forget it. You can help me."

"Sure, babe," he said to her. "Anything."

"Good," Katherine grinned. She grabbed him by his hair, lapping greedily, relishing the control she had over this man, just like Gregory had had control over her. She liked it. The man struggled in her grip. Finally, when she'd had enough, she broke his neck and took his body outside to leave for the animals in the woods. Then, she climbed into bed, licked her lips clean, and shut her eyes, hoping that she would have no more dreams of the handsome man who called himself Gregory.


	38. A Call From a Friend

"Hello,_ Katherine_," Gregory said to her as she approached him. She paused, squinted and ran at him, putting her arms around him in an uncharacteristic hug.

"Wait a minute!" Gregory said. "What are you doing? Why are you hugging me? Have you decided to be nice all of a sudden?"

"No," Katherine replied, knocking him to the floor. "It's just that I had a very unsettling dream about you and I hugged you because I was relieved to see that in broad daylight, you're still the annoying little twerp I'm used to, all right?"

"And you're still the nasty woman you always are too," Gregory replied, rubbing his bottom. "What was I like in that dream of yours, anyway?"

Katherine scoffed. "I don't remember. And even if I _did_ remember, I still wouldn't tell you because it's none of your business. Now, let me guess: you're gonna call your mother to come take you home again."

"No," Gregory shook his head. "As satisfying as it would be to abandon you again, I'm feeling generous today. Let's get Laura and Colin and head to your car."

"Who do you think you are just ordering me about like that?" Katherine asked. "I'm not just some person who exists to serve you and do whatever you say."

"Maybe not, but aren't you driving us because my father asked you to?" Gregory asked. "Isn't that sort of the same as you working for me?"

"No, it's not!" Katherine replied. "You're a child, you're younger than me, you aren't paying me, so therefore, I don't have to do what you say."

"So you _aren't_ gonna drive us home from school today?" Gregory asked her. "That's really the whole point of this conversation. It wouldn't bother me if you didn't."

"No," Katherine huffed resignedly. "I'll do it." They found Laura and Colin and Katherine hustled the three kids outside to her car. As usual, the ride home was very awkward.

"Geez," Colin whispered to Gregory. "What did you do to tick her off?"

"I didn't do anything," Gregory replied.

"Yeah," Laura replied, after catching Katherine's eye in the rearview mirror. "Don't blame Gregory for the fact that she's a naturally unpleasant person. Some people just are and there's nothing you can do about it."

At this remark, Katherine pressed down hard on the brake, causing all three kids to smash into the seats in front of them. Then, Katherine got out of the car, came around and opened both side doors. "Get out," she told them. "All of you."

"What do you mean?" Gregory asked.

"Yeah," Laura replied. "How are we supposed to get home?"

"I don't know," Katherine replied. "And I don't care. You should have thought of that before you decided to disrespect me by shooting off all your mouths! Now, as I said, _get out._"

When they didn't move, she physically removed them from the car so that they were in the street, and then drove off, leaving them alone, watching her go. Then she drove to Selina and Elijah's and strode into Elijah's office.

"You're here, Katerina!" He said. "But where are the children?"

"On the side of the road somewhere," Katherine replied. "I've had enough, Elijah. I won't drive those brats around any more!"

Elijah's eyes narrowed. "Bring my children back from wherever it is that you left them and then you will be considered released from your duties."

"Fine," Katherine replied. "I'll bring them back. But if you ask me, I'm really doing you a favor. With all of them gone, you'll have three less mouths to feed. But I guess people don't consider that a plus as much as they used to." She slammed the office door behind her and grudgingly went to get the kids. She brought them back, left them in the driveway, and drove off before she had to face Elijah again.

* * *

"All right," Lenora nodded. "I'll let him know. Thank you for calling." She hung up the phone and strode outside to the ship. "James?" She called. "Where are you?" All of a sudden, a large, soft foam ball came flying at her. She avoided it and and then, after a few seconds of looking, found James standing beside a cannon looking sheepish. "Hello," he said.

"What did you have to hit me for?" She asked. "You knew it was me. Who the hell else knows this is even here?"

"I'm sorry," James said. "But I can't afford to be lax with security. For all I know, you aren't even you at all, but someone disguised like you to come in here and steal all our secrets!"

"Would you like me to share some intimate details about you that only I would know to prove that I am who I am?" Lenora asked.

"No," James said quickly. "No, that's all right. What brings you down here?"

"Well, first," Lenora replied with a grin, "I think you're having way too much fun, and I can't believe you shot something at me out of a cannon. The next time you try and seduce me, I'm gonna remember that. Second, a guy called and said he's your friend. I have his number. You wanna go call him back?"

"What kind of a friend?" James asked.

"From the way he was talking, it was one of your pirate friends," Lenora replied. "But I thought all of them would be dead by now."

James nodded. "I thought that too. But we'll just have to see, won't we?"

He took the number from Lenora and looked at it. "Well, well, well," he said. "Mr. Trotter, what is it that you want now?"

He left Lenora in the boat with Henry and went to give the man a call.

"I see you got my message," Mr. Trotter replied. "And just who was it that answered the phone the first time? Your lovely wife?" He paused and burst into laughter. "Who am I kidding? There's not a girl alive with enough courage to fall in love with _you._"

"Get to the point," James ordered, his voice clipped. "What do you want?"

"The treasure," Trotter replied. "Rumor going around is that you know where it is."

"I might," James replied. "But getting it is a more complicated process than just knowing where it is. There's a person who is in possession of it now and she's not exactly willing to just give it up. Not even a small portion!"

"'She'?" Trotter asked in shock. "The treasure we all worked so hard to get is now in the posession of a _woman_? I don't see why you're so worried. This makes it much easier to get than if she were a man."

"It's not that simple," James told him. "The woman, she's a vampire. She was turned by our captain."

"She was not!" Trotter said in amazement. "So the rumors were true, then...about things happening to him."

"Yes," James replied. "He was turned in the late seventeen hundreds, supposedly. He was turned, I've been cursed with immortality by the Witches' Council for my various misdeeds. What's _your_ excuse for still being here?"

"Oh, I have an excuse," Trotter replied. "We all do. But it's nothing to concern yourself with. You're dealing with enough, already."

As James hung up, Lenora and Henry came in. "So," Lenora asked. "Did you have a good time talking with your friend?"

"He's not really my friend," James told her. "And talking to him has never been and never will be a pleasant experience."

"Oh," Lenora nodded. "I'm sorry. What's the matter?"

"The man, Mr. Trotter," James told her, "He's a member of my and Bloody Roger's old crew."

"And let me guess," Lenora replied, rolling her eyes. "_He_ wants the treasure too!"

"Well, yes," James nodded. "That's exactly what he wants."

Lenora threw up her hands. "What is so great about this damn treasure that everyone wants it so bad? I don't understand at all."

"Well," James replied, "In our case, we want it because it was us on the crew who worked so hard to retrieve it and bury it and then Bloody Roger just took it away and left us with nothing. It's not anything more extraordinary than the usual sort of treasure: gold, jewels, that sort of thing, but the effort we put into finding it alone makes it valuable to all of us."

"When exactly _were_ you a pirate?" Lenora asked him. "It had to have been an _awfully_ long time ago. How are the other members of your crew still alive? I mean, you have your reasons, but _them..._"

"It was the early 1740s," James told her. "Although your grandmother knew Roger as an older man, when I knew him, he wasn't much more than twenty. Many of us were older than him, but his very ruthlessness made him our captain practically by default."

"Wow," Lenora replied, sucking in her breath. "Sounds like a tough man."

"He was," James replied. "He was."

"So when the man asked you for the treasure," Lenora said, "what did you tell him? Did you tell him that my grandmother had it and that she has no intention of letting anyone have it?"

James shrugged. "I tried," he said. "I gave him the warning that she was a vampire, but I don't know if it will do much. As for how the rest of the crew is still here, Trotter wouldn't tell me specifics, but he said that they _did_ have a way of staying here. Maybe they were cursed. Who knows?"

James paused and took Lenora's hand. "If the rest of the crew comes back and asks for my help, you'll let me go, won't you?"

"Well, yeah," Lenora nodded. "It's not my place to tell you how to live your life, James. All I want if you do leave is that you find some way to let me know that you're all right once in awhile. Is that too much to ask?"

"No," James replied, kissing her forehead and clutching Henry to him. "It's not. And technically, my grandmother isn't just a vampire. She's a vampire-werewolf hybrid."

* * *

"Thank you for allowing me to come with you and see Felicity," Elijah said to Selina as they stood waiting on Klaus' front porch.

"No problem," Selina said. "I know why you feel you need to come along and I respect that."

"Well, thank you," Elijah replied. "It's good it finally got through your head."

Just then, the door opened and Selina and Elijah found themselves face to face with a teenage girl, whose eyes lit up when she saw Selina. She threw her arms around her and gave her a hug. "Hi, Mommy!" She said. "It's been so long since you came to visit!"

Selina held the girl at arms' length. "Felicity?" She asked. "What the hell happened to you? I know it's been awhile since I visited, but I didn't think it was _that_ long!"

"It's not what you think," Felicity told her quietly. "It's just a spell. Enid did it so Uncle Stefan and I would get along better. Dad knows about it. Uncle Stefan doesn't. He thinks I'm a girl named Joy." She grinned. "Oh, come in!" She said. "I'm sorry for making you stand out here!"

Elijah followed Selina and whispered in her ear, "Niklaus must be out of his mind to allow something like this to go on."

Selina shrugged. "Possibly. But Felicity doesn't seem like she's had any harm to her, so let's not start lecturing Klaus about lax parenting, okay?"

"What kind of a person just lets a young child grow up that fast?" Elijah asked, feeling outraged.

"Us, for instance," Selina told him. "Lenora put a spell on Lucy to age her ten years when she was six years old and I don't recall you or myself ever pushing all that hard to get the spell taken off her, so let's just keep things quiet for now, shall we?"

Elijah sighed. "Fine," he said. "I'll hold my tongue."

"I know you won't," Selina told him. "But thanks for trying, at least." They sat down in the living room and Felicity went and got them drinks. When she got back, Selina cleared her throat.

"So," she said. "How did this spell thing come about?"

"Oh, well, Uncle Stefan and I don't get along so well sometimes, and Daddy hates being in the middle when we fight, so after Stefan left and I was upset and missing him, Daddy took me to Enid's and we talked to her, and she came up with a spell that would make me older long enough so that Uncle Stefan and I would get along again, and it worked!"

"And you said Stefan knows _nothing_ about it?" Selina asked. "Don't you think that's just a bit...wrong?"

"How could it be wrong if Uncle Stefan likes me again?" Felicity asked. "Daddy doesn't seem to mind. He hasn't complained now that we've been getting along so well."

"Maybe," Selina replied. "But Stefan doesn't like _you._ I'm sorry to say that, but it's true. He likes this older person that you've become who _isn't _you, at least not for another..." Selina looked her over. "...ten years."

"So you think I should tell him?" Felicity asked.

"Well," Selina replied, "I think it would be the nice thing to do, but you do whatever you think is best, all right?"

"Okay," Felicity nodded. "I'll remember that."

Just then, Klaus and Stefan came in. "Elijah," Klaus said. "What a surprise."

"Well," Elijah replied, "Selina wanted to visit Felicity and I thought I would come along. Just to get out of the house, you know."

"I know," Klaus nodded. "It can't be easy being at the beck and call of three children all hours of the day."

"That must be why you're so glad yours grew up," Selina gestured at Felicity. "Were you ever gonna tell me about this, Klaus?"

"Why?" Klaus asked. "You're not raising her anymore. I am. You just stop by and say 'Hello' when you remember to, which hardly qualifies you to join in parenting with me, even if Felicity still _does_ call you 'Mom'."

"Hey!" Felicity said. "Can you two stop fighting, please?"

"Yeah," Selina replied, looking away, while Klaus muttered, "Fine."

"That's better," Felicity smiled. Just then, Stefan came up behind her and kissed her on the top of the head. "Hey," he said. "You wanna get out of here?" Then, he noticed Selina, who was watching them and trying her hardest not to laugh. "What?" He asked. "What's funny?"

"Nothing," Selina replied. "Just...just thinking of a really funny joke I heard. It's nothing about you, I promise."

"You are _weird!_" Stefan told her. "You always have been and you always will be."

"Thank you," Selina replied. "I'll take that as a compliment!"

Felicity stood up and followed Stefan to the door.

"Don't forget that Roxanne and Addison are coming in a few hours!" Klaus reminded Felicity. "Addison especially will be upset if you forget."

"All right," Felicity promised. "I won't forget!" They left and Stefan said, "Who's Addison?"

"Just a friend," Felicity replied. "No one special."

After they, Selina, and Elijah left, Klaus called Roxie. "Roxanne," he asked when she answered. "You _are_ still planning on bringing Addison and Joey over to play with Felicity, aren't you?"

"Well, yeah," Roxie nodded. "Is that a problem?"

"No," Klaus replied. "But Lissy's had a spell put on her by Enid at my request. When you see her, she'll be older and only answer to the name 'Joy', but other than that, everything is the same. I just thought I'd let you know so there wouldn't be any surprises."

"Can I ask why you're doing this?" Roxie asked. "What's going on, Daddy?"

Klaus sighed. "It's a way for her and Stefan to get along better," he explained. "It was getting to be madness having the two of them in the same space the way they were. So I simply took Lissy to Enid and Enid put a spell on her that aged her so Stefan would have someone better to relate to, only he doesn't know that it's Felicity. He thinks it's a different girl entirely."

"Isn't that dishonest, Daddy?" Roxie asked. "Don't you think you should tell Stefan the truth?"

"You know," he said, "You're beginning to sound like your mother and I don't like it."

"Can I still bring the kids over anyway?" Roxie asked after a few seconds of silence.

"Fine," Klaus told her. "As long as you promise not to spoil everything by blurting out the truth about Felicity to Stefan, I'd be glad to have you."


	39. The Foolish Caper

"Do you ever wonder what's going on back at our old place?" Lenora asked James. "Do you think that Luke guy is doing as good of a job instilling fear in people as you did?"

"Oh, bite your tongue," James told her. "No one can instill fear like I did. _No one_!"

"Well, okay," Lenora replied. "I'm sorry. But do you think he's doing a passable job?"

James shrugged. "He must be, or your grandmother would call and beg for me to come back, wouldn't she?" He sighed.

"You miss it, don't you?" Lenora asked. "Working, I mean."

"Well, yes, I miss it," James replied. "Being a source of terror has kind of been my job for the last three-hundred years and now, nothing."

Lenora hugged him. "Personally, I'm impressed that you were able to last that long. All I had to do was see you in that ship of yours once and I don't think I'll ever be scared of you again. You're too cute."

"I am_ not_ cute!" James told her. "_Please_ don't call me cute."

"Fine," Lenora replied. "You're not cute. You're fearsome and wicked."

"Damn right," James nodded. "And if Trotter and the rest decide to get the treasure, I'll be able to prove it again!"

Lenora sighed. "You know I fully support you going and doing that, but I have a feeling Henry's really gonna miss his father. And he's much too young for you to take with you."

"But if you're correct about the location," James replied, "It's not even going to take that long to find. We could all go. You could distract your grandmother, we could get the treasure, and then be home by dinner."

"Did you not hear me say my grandmother is a vampire-werewolf hybrid?" Lenora asked. "Don't underestimate her, okay? I don't want you to get hurt."

James shrugged. "Even if I do get hurt, it won't matter. I have immortality on my side."

"I know you _think _that," Lenora told him. "But-"

"Relax," James said, kissing her. "Everything will be all right. I have it all under control. Trust me."

Lenora didn't really want to trust him. She wanted to talk some sense in to him because she was the only one of the two of them that knew what her sweet, cookie-baking grandmother with her big blue eyes was capable of when pushed far enough. But she also knew that no matter what she said, he wouldn't believe her.

"Fine," she said. "I trust you."

"Thank you," James replied. "And besides, it's not like we'll be going directly to your grandmother's. We probably won't see her at all if the treasure is buried in the yard of a place where she doesn't even live anymore."

"I'm not trying to be a nag," Lenora told him, pushing her blonde hair out of her eyes. "I just don't want you to get hurt."

"I will _not_ get hurt," James said. "I _promise."_

But when he talked with Mr. Trotter and the other members of the crew that night, they made an adjustment in the plans to get the treasure that James knew he could never tell Lenora about. everyone else decided to go to the grounds of Bloody Roger's old house and dig there while James himself would go directly to Selina's to poke around. James didn't see the harm in it. He would probably get in and get out and Lenora's grandmother and anyone else in the house wouldn't even know he'd been there.

"You _will_ still be able to come, won't you, James?" Mr. Trotter asked. "The little lady will let you out?"

The other men snickered and James felt himself tense. "Of course I'll be able to come," he replied. "I can have my own life. Lenora doesn't control what I do."

"We'll believe that when you show up tonight, Black," another of the men replied. They walked away from him and James sighed. He went back home, climbed into bed, and pondered how he was gonna get out of the house without Lenora knowing about it.

By the night that he was supposed to meet the crew, James still hadn't figured out what to tell Lenora. Fortunately, she'd come home from school exhausted and was not in the mood to do a lot of talking. She got in her pajamas, crawled into bed, pulled the covers over herself and fell asleep.

As James peered down at her, he thought to himself that it was his last chance to decide what to do. He could stay here with her and be left out of whatever they happened to find, or he could leave now and help the crew find the treasure, coming back in the morning to the possibility that she would never know he'd been gone. After much consideration, he decided on the latter. He kissed her goodnight and left the house.

"Well, look who's here," Mr. Trotter replied. "The married man made it after all."

James wanted to point out that he and Lenora were _not_ married and that his relationship with her was not unlike the sorts that most pirates had with women, but he decided not to. He didn't want to open himself up to more ridicule. He just wanted to do what he'd come here to do and then get back to Lenora and Henry.

"Let's just do what we came to do," he said shortly. "You all go to Bloody Roger's old house, I'll look through Lonely Heart's house and see what I can find. Good luck."

They wished the same to him and went their separate ways. To his surprise, they disappeared just as he would, which surprised him. He wondered just what had happened to give them the eternal existence that they had now. He shook his head. He had to focus on the job at hand. He disppeared and appeared again inside of Selina's house. He tried to be as quiet as he possibly could, but he didn't succed. He figured someone would come down and see what was going on at any time, and he knew he should go, but he just couldn't make himself. The treasure had to be somewhere and he wouldn't leave until he had at least _some _of it.

* * *

Selina shot up from her pillow and she wasn't sure if it was because of the babies crying or the noise going on downstairs. Elijah woke up a few seconds after her. "How do you want to handle this?" He asked. "Do you want to handle the robbers, or should I?"

"You take care of the kids," Selina replied. "I'm gonna give those robbers a thrashing they'll never forget!"

"Maybe I should go after them and you should look after the kids," Elijah replied. "It'll be safer that way."

"No, it won't," Selina replied. "Margaret's gonna need the most comforting and you're the parent she feels more comfortable with, so you stay up here and I'll deal with whoever was stupid enough to try and rob us."

"You can be as violent with the robbers as you want," Elijah called after her. As much as he didn't want to admit it, she was right about Margaret. "Just make sure you don't break too many more things!"

"They're things!" Selina said without looking at him. "We can always get more!" Once she got down the stairs, she transformed into a wolf and began sniffing around for the intruder. She found him in the kitchen. She let out a low growl and he turned. It was that guy Lenora liked! And she could figure out the reason why he was here, cause there was only one reason: He was after _her_ treasure! She made a leap for him and tried to pin him to the floor, but missed.

"A werewolf," he said. "So Lenora _wasn't_ lying about that, was she?" Selina made another leap for him and he just barely managed to dodge her before turning into a wolf himself. They chased each other around the house for a bit, knocking over tables and even Elijah's chair. But what James didn't realize was that a warlock in wolf form was not as strong as a werewolf, even though it would seem that he would be. Eventually, he began to tire while Selina still had a lot of energy left. Finally, he decided it would be easier to turn himself back. He did that, running and continuing to shoot spells at her over his shoulder. Finally, he reached a door in a far off dark corner of the house. He heard Selina growl loudly behind him. This made him very intrigued about what was behind the door. He reached for the handle and Selina pouced on him, her teeth sinking into his wrist and tearing it so that his hand was nearly severed. Growling in frustration, he held on to his wrist and magicked himself back home, watching the wolf crouching territorially next to the room full of treasure and looking smug, his blood on her snout.

By the time Elijah reached her, she had turned back, covering herself with a sheet that was just lying around. "Did you catch them?" He asked. "Did you get the robbers?"

"I got him," Selina replied. wiping the blood off her face. "It was the guy Lenora likes. He was after the treasure I took from Doctor Stensrund afte I killed him. Apparently, he and Lenora's boyfriend were pirates together on a ship about a gazillion years ago, they found some treasure, but then Dr. Stensrund took the treasure and ran and ever since Lenora's boyfriend found out that I had it, he's been begging me to let him have some. I never thought he'd stoop to robbing the house, though."

"Are you all right?" Elijah asked.

"Yeah," Selina nodded. "I'm fine. Despite how hard he tried, he didn't make a nick on me. How are the kids?"

"The children are fine," Elijah replied. "Would you help me get the triplets to sleep?"

"Sure," Selina nodded. "I wouldn't mind getting to sleep as well. We're gonna have a _big_ clean up job to do tomorrow thanks to this!"

* * *

When James landed in the living room of his and Lenora's house, he still groaned loudly, even though he didn't land on his bad hand. The noise brought Lenora to him. "Oh, my god!" She cried. "What happened to you?"

"I was hungry and I tripped on my way to the refrigerator," James replied, wincing and sucking in his breath.

"Your wrist is bleeding!" Lenora cried. She muttered a spell to stop the bleeding, but enough had come out that James was still incredibly woozy and unable to get up on his own. "Now," she said. "Are you gonna tell me the truth about how this happened, or not?"

"I would prefer not to," James replied. "I would rather just go to bed, thank you."

"Did you go out?" Lenora asked. "Did you leave after I fell asleep and hope that you could just come back and I wouldn't notice?"

"I have the right to go out and do things by myself!" James snapped. "You can't control everything I do!"

Lenora's eyes narrowed. "Who were you out with? Your pirate friends? I don't want you seeing them anymore. They're a bad influence on you."

"I went out with them _once_," James replied. "And we aren't married, so it is not your place to tell me how I can and cannot spend my time, thank you very much. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to bed."

"No!" Lenora replied, going after him. "I'm not gonna accept that! Now, if you had just gone out with these guys and come back unharmed, I wouldn't mind, but did you _see_ your wrist when you were on the floor? How did that happen? You weren't stupid enough to go to my grandmother's house and try and rob her, were you?"

"I _had_ to!" James told her. "I was the only one who knew where her house was! And how was I supposed to know she was gonna turn into a werewolf?"

"You knew because I _told_ you!" Lenora replied. "I know I did! Why the fuck didn't you listen to me?"

"I thought you were just making it up!" James replied. "A vampire-werewolf hybrid? It all sounds so silly!"

"Yeah, well, welcome to my family!" Lenora replied. "Grandma Selina's not the only one."

James felt the color drain from his face. "You mean, not only are they real, there's more than one of them?" He asked.

"Yeah," Lenora nodded. "And I'm sure that Grandma Selina could call forth every one that there is if you _ever_ try doing such a dumb thing again. No amount of treasure is worth losing body parts over, James."

"Losing body parts is nothing!" James told her. "It was the rare pirate that didn't lose a limb or worse during his escapades."

Lenora rolled her eyes. "You just don't get it, do you?" She asked. "Go to bed. I'm going to go sleep in Henry's room. I need to be away from you now."

"Yes, well, goodnight to you too!" James called after her bitterly. "I'm not gonna feel sorry for this! Not ever!"

* * *

"Dad," Felicity asked. "I have a question."

"What?" Klaus asked.

Felicity sighed. "I know I probably should have asked it when Mom was here, but...where do my powers come from? You and she aren't witches, right?"

"Exactly," Klaus nodded. "We aren't."

"So then, how come I can do magic?"

Klaus sighed. "Because the woman you _think_ is your mother isn't really your mother," he said.

"Well, then, who is?" Felicity asked. "The nice lady who sends me all the letters from New Orleans?"

"Oh, um...well..." Klaus stuttered. "Just a minute."

He left the room and called Elijah's, hoping Alistair would be there. He got Elijah first and then Alistair came on the line.

"What is it?" Alistair asked. "Elijah made it seem like you're having some sort of horrible crisis."

"Well, I _am!_" Klaus told him. "Felicity wants to know who her mother is. I mean, it's easy enough for me to head off questions about her father because, you know, Adrian and I look so much alike, but now she wants to know where her powers come from, and she's asking if Helene is her mother and I don't know what to do!"

"It's too soon to tell her the truth now," Alistair said. "I think we both can agree on that. Just tell her that her witch powers came from...Astrid, and that Helene sends her letters because she's a family friend and that's all. Can you do that?"

"Yes," Klaus nodded. "I can." He got off the phone and went back to Felicity, who was eying him curiously. "So?" She asked. "About my powers...?"

"The lady who writes you letters from New Orleans is a family friend," Klaus told her. "Your mother is Astrid. She and I were together for awhile, had you, and then we separated."

Felicity nodded. "Okay," she replied. "So you and Mommy Astrid broke up and then you married Mommy Selina and she married Daddy Alistair?"

"Exactly," Klaus nodded. "That's what happened. Are you satisfied?"

"Yeah," Felicity nodded. "I guess."

But she'd really only said that to make him feel better. Later, she knocked on Stefan's door. "Can we talk?" She called.

Stefan opened the door. "Sure," he replied. "We can 'talk' all you want." He gestured at the bed. "Want to sit down?"

"Why are you talking like that?" Felicity asked.

"No reason," he said. "You know, Joy, you and I have been living in the same house for awhile and I think it _is_ about time we talked."

"Good," Felicity replied. "Can I go first?"

"Sure," Stefan replied, stroking her palm and then briefly kissing it. "Go ahead."

"I think I'm being lied to," she said.

"Really?" Stefan worked his lips up her bare arm and then to her shoulder. "What sort of horrible person would lie to you?"

"It's not so much about the person, but the lie," Felicity replied. "You see, I'm an orphan and I was talking to someone about my powers because the people I grew up with didn't have 'em, so I wondered where they came from and I thought I had the answer, but now I'm not so sure." She paused. "Yeah," she thought to herself. "That's just vague enough not to give anything away."

"So what are you gonna do about it?" Stefan asked. "Are you gonna push the issue even more so you'll know the truth, or..."

Felicity shrugged. "I don't know," she said. "Keep kissing my arm. I _like _that."

"Well, good!" Stefan replied, grinning. "I wasn't sure if you would because when I tried to kiss you on the lips the other day you got upset."

"Oh, _that_," Felicity nodded. "Here's how it works. You can kiss me. I can kiss you. But we just can't kiss _each other _at the same time."

"Why not?" Stefan asked.

"Because," Felicity replied. "We just can't."

Stefan laughed a little. "You're such a tease," he said. "I like that in a girl, Joy."

Felicity smiled. "Whatever I can do to make you like me," she said. "I already know I like _you_." Then, she put her arms around him, rested her cheek on his shoulder, and just savored the moment.


	40. Abandon Ship

"So," Klaus said to Stefan. "You and Joy seem to be getting along. Don't think I haven't noticed."

Stefan nodded. "Yeah, we have. I mean, I like her. I do. She's really sweet and she's almost made me forget that Felicity is gone."

"Yes," Klaus nodded. "Felicity is gone. I miss her but she left for a good reason."

"And just what reason was that?" Stefan asked. His tone was a little more intense than he meant it to be.

"I should think it would be obvious!" Klaus replied. "You and Felicity didn't get along, so I thought that sending her away would make her have a greater appreciation of what's here . And I really thought you'd appreciate the time off from her."

"I do," Stefan nodded. "Believe me, Joy is much more pleasant. I was just curious about where she'd gone is all. She left kind of suddenly."

Just then, the door opened. "Anyone home?" Joy called out. "Anyone up for a picnic? It's such a nice day I thought it would be a shame to stay inside."

"Sure," Stefan replied. "I'll go." He looked at Klaus. "Do you want to come with us?"

Klaus was about to say 'Yes', but then he saw the look Felicity gave him over Stefan's shoulder, a look that said, "Don't you dare say 'Yes'."

Klaus sighed. "No," he said. "I think I'll stay here. But before you go, Joy, may I see you alone for a little while?"

"Do I have to?" She asked.

"Yes," he replied firmly. He brought her to his room and shut the door. "You be careful out there," he said.

"What do you think I'm gonna do?" Felicity asked. "I'm not gonna do anything bad because that will just make me little again!"

"Well, see that you don't," Klaus told her. "He's_ much _too old for you. Getting along is one thing. Going on picnics together without supervision is something else entirely."

Felicity scoffed. "We_ really _need to work on getting you a girlfriend, don't we, Daddy?"

"That is none of your business," Klaus replied. Felicity just rolled her eyes and went in search of Stefan again. "Sorry for the wait," she told him when she found him. "Your friend just wanted to talk."

"It's not a problem," Stefan told her. "Want me to carry the picnic basket?"

"Okay!" Felicity nodded, handing it to him and taking his free hand in hers. "Let's walk to the picnic grounds. They aren't that far away and it's a nice day."

Felicity and Stefan walked to the park and set out the picnic. They ate the sandwiches and potato salad without incident, but then Felicity pulled out the strawberries. It was just an ordinary box of strawberries, but she opened them, took out a small baggie full of sugar, poured it in another bowl, and then twisted the strawberry in the sugar before putting it in her mouth and sucking the sugar off. Stefan watched this intently.

"What?" Felicity asked when the strawberry was gone. "Do you want some too?" She held out the box to him and he shook his head. "No, thanks," he said. "You can keep eating them, though. I don't mind."

"Oh, I think you should have some," Felicity replied, proffering a strawberry at him. "I can't eat them all by myself."

Stefan obliged her and ate a few strawberries. The last one in the box had a long stem. He picked it up and put the stem in between his teeth. "Do you have room for one more?" He asked Felicity, his voice muffled.

"Yeah, but it's okay for you to have it," she said. "I don't mind."

Stefan shook his head and took the strawberry out of his mouth. "I want you to have this one," he said. "I'll hold the stem in my teeth and you eat it that way."

Felicity giggled. "That's a funny way to do it, but okay!" She bit the strawberry, getting closer and closer to the stem. When she finally reached it, she took it out of Stefan's mouth and kissed him deeply. He put his arms around her, kissing her back, his hands going under her shirt and even unzipping her jean shorts. But when the kiss ended and he pulled back, he realized with horror that he wasn't looking at a teenage girl anymore. Instead, he was gazing at a sheepishly grinning, seven year old Felicity.

"Oopsie!" she said. "Hi, Uncle Stefan."

"Oh, god!" he groaned, backing away. "Oh, _god!_ It's _you!_" He got up and, completely forgetting about the picnic, ran away.

"Wait a minute!" Felicity cried, following after him. "Uncle Stefan, let me _explain!"_

"No," He said. "No, you stay away from me!" Now he was passionately wishing that they had brought a car so he could get into it and drive away from this nightmare.

She finally caught up to him when he tripped over a branch and landed in the grass. "Hi," she said, looking down at him. "Will you listen to me _now_?"

He sat up. "Why?" He asked. "Why did you have to do this to me? What have I ever done to you?"

She sat down next to him. "I like you," she said. "And I want you to like me. I thought that if I was older, maybe you would. I wasn't trying to cause a problem."

"Well, you kind of did," he said. "Remember how when we were kissing, I touched you? Well, now that you're seven, it makes that kind of creepy."

Felicity grinned a wicked grin. "But I liked it!" She said. "I _liked_ the touching! _And_ the kissing!"

"Well, it doesn't matter," Stefan told her sharply. "Because it will _never_ happen again. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some drinking to do. A _lot_ of drinking, actually. That's what it will take to make me forget this."

"You have to take me home first, though," Felicity reminded him. "I can't be here by myself."

Growling, he grudgingly took her home and left her standing on the front step before driving away so that he wouldn't have to face Klaus and tell him what they'd done to make Felicity be little again.

As he drove around, he wondered what to do with himself. He could probably never cross Klaus' threshold again. He couldn't go to his other house because he assumed that Anna was there with whatever boyfriend she was with now and wouldn't want him around, so, although he hated to admit it, that left him with only one option. He didn't want to take it, but he had to. There was nothing else for him to do.

* * *

"Stefan?" Lucy asked in surprise when she answered the door. "What brings you here?"

"Nothing," Stefan shrugged nonchalantly. "I just wanted to visit the two of you. There's nothing wrong with that, is there?"

"Well," Lucy replied, "sadly, you'll only be visiting with Damon, because I have somewhere I have to be in a few minutes, but your brother is around somewhere."

She yelled out his name and Damon came running. "What?"

"I just wanted to let you know that your brother is here," Lucy replied, indicating Stefan, who gave him a half-hearted wave. "I'll be on my way now. You two have a nice talk."

She left and Damon came to sit next to Stefan on the sofa. "What the hell happened to you?" He asked. "You look really pale and like you want to throw up."

"Do I?" Stefan asked. "Cause that _is_ how I feel."

"Why?" Damon asked. "What the hell happened?"

Stefan sighed. "When I tell you, you're just gonna laugh. Remember when Lucy was little and you liked her and I mocked you for it?"

"Yes," Damon nodded. "I've been waiting for the day when I can repay in kind."

"Well, it's come," Stefan told him. "You can laugh now. Remember that girl I liked, Joy? It turned out she was just Felicity made older by magic! Damon, I _kissed_ her! And I might have done a few other things too that Klaus will never know about. She told me it was okay, so how the hell was_ I _supposed to know?!"

"Wait a minute," Damon said. "Joy was Felicity? Klaus' little granddaughter who always follows you around? Under a _spell_? Damn."

"Yeah," Stefan nodded. "She said she only did it so I'd like her better, but I have a feeling she _knew_ something like this was gonna happen. That sneaky, manipulative little-" His hands balled into fists.

"I think a situation like this calls for a drink," Damon told him.

"Or a _lot_ of drinks," Stefan replied.

"And I'll hold off the mocking for now. You're going through a bad enough time," Damon gave him a pat on the shoulder. "But when you're sober tomorrow, that's when it will begin."

* * *

"I thought you weren't coming back here," Gregory told Katherine with a smirk as he found her sitting in her car and staring at the house. "You know, some people would think you're being creepy."

"I wasn't trying to be creepy, I'm just bored," she said. "You can only go through so many stupid men before you can't deal with them anymore."

"Why did you hug me the other day?" He asked. "You _never_ hug me!"

"I told you!" She said. "I had a dream about you and when I saw you in the morning, I was so glad you were still young that I had to hug you. Nothing weird about that."

Gregory grinned. "What sort of a dream? Was it a nice dream?"

Katherine smirked. "'Nice' is not the word I would use," she said.

"Well, then what was it?" Gregory asked. "What happened in it? You can tell me. I won't laugh."

"No," Katherine replied. "I won't tell you about it. Even when you're old enough, I _still _won't tell you!"

"Well, fine," Gregory said. "I just wanted to help." To her surprise, he leaned forward and gave her a brief kiss on the cheek. "Goodbye, Katherine." Then he left her alone in the car. She tried to think of something angry to call after him, but she couldn't. Instead, she just sat in the driver's seat with her hand on her face, trying to think of the last time it had been that someone had actually, genuinely, wanted to help her.

* * *

James continued to go out with Mr. Trotter and the others and sometimes, they brought Damon along. One night, Lenora decided she'd finally had enough. She got out of bed and put some stuff in bags for both she and Henry and then she left the house with him.

"Dada boat!" Henry exclaimed, pointing at the boat as they made their way across the yard to the car.

"Don't look at that," Lenora said, trying to shield his eyes from the most prominent reminder of James that there was. "I don't want you to think about him anymore. He values his friends more than us, so we're leaving."

She hadn't even left a note for James to tell him where she and Henry had gone, cause she didn't want him to try and find them. But the treasure was so important to him now that she doubted he would do that.

"Boat! Boat!" Henry said again, pointing as the car pulled out of the driveway. They drove to Astrid's and when she answered Lenora's knock, it was with some surprise.

"What are you doing here?" She asked. "Where's James?"

Lenora sighed. "We've decided to separate for awhile," she replied. "James has some priorities he needs to get in order at the moment."

"What sorts of things?" Astrid asked. "You haven't had a fight, have you?"

"No," Lenora sighed. "Not a fight, really. It's just...I think he's been bored ever since you told him he couldn't keep doing his job anymore. He's had trouble finding a way to occupy himself. His most recent obsession is getting some treasure that the man who turned Grandma Selina into a vampire took from him and the rest of their crew when they were both on a pirate ship together several hundred years ago. It's completely consuming him and I just...I felt like he valued it more than Henry and me, so I decided to leave until he'd sorted out his feelings."

"Treasure?" Astrid asked. "And Selina has this treasure? That's a problem."

"Yeah," Lenora nodded. "He was stupid and tried to take it from her, and she turned into a wolf and practically bit off his hand. That was when I decided that enough was enough. I love him too much to just repeatedly watch him hurt himself over something as stupid as gold and jewels. And I think I deserve better for myself. And Henry, too."

Astrid sighed. "I'll see what I can do about getting his job back for him. But it won't be so easy. Luke is very good at what he does. Almost _too_ good. Better than James, if you want me to be completely honest. But if it will bring family harmony back to you, I'll return James to his former position."

* * *

In the end, Astrid's intervention turned out to be unnecessary. As soon as James found out that Henry and Lenora had gone, his first instinct was not to run after them, but to wash his hands of both, at least for the moment. He left the house, causing it to explode in his wake, and then he walked to the backyard and considered the boat. He couldn't blow it up, he thought, stroking it lovingly. He just couldn't. He shrunk it down to toy size again and carried it off with him back to his castle. He made quick work of Luke, slitting his throat and displaying the body at the front of the house before resuming the torture of his victims with more vigor than he'd show in a long time.

"It certainly didn't take you long to get back into the swing of things," Max remarked dryly when James came in from a torture session one day, his face and hands covered in blood. "Anything you want to talk about?"

"No!" James said sharply. "Nothing needs to be talked about. I'm _fine!_"

Max looked out the window at the large, lonely ship that was taking up residence in the backyard. "Wonderful place to put the ship," he commented.

"You seem surprised that I kept it," James replied. "Why wouldn't I? That's something that is for Henry and me only. And it's not my little first mate that I'm mad at. Why should he be blamed for something that's _her_ fault? She took him away from me, Max!"

"Well, think about how much you've been worrying about the treasure," Max pointed out. "Maybe Lenora took Henry because she thought you wanted to think about it more than him. And her."

James' head snapped up. "Right!" He exclaimed. "The treasure! I can't forget about that! A portion of it is mine and no one is going to take it from me!"

Max rolled his eyes. James clearly had a one track mind. And it would take more than just a separation for him to realize where the real treasure was. Max only hoped that by the time he realized it, that it wouldn't be too late for him.


	41. The Real Treasure

"Mommy?" Henry asked Lenora. "Do I see Daddy today?"

"Well, do you want to?" Lenora asked. While she didn't think that James was improved enough for them to get back together permanently, she'd decided to let him see Henry every so often, hoping that seeing his son would help remind James that his family was more important than any treasure. Also, she'd learned from watching her parents that strong-arming James into something just because he wasn't behaving in a way that she thought was right would only make things worse.

She hoped he'd realize it soon, though. It had been a long three years without him.

Henry nodded enthusiastically and tugged at her hand. "Come on!" He said and pulled her toward the car. He had James' blue eyes and dark brown hair that could have come from people on either side of his family.

"Okay, okay, just a minute!" Lenora cried as he continued to tug at her. Finally, she got her balance and let him pull her toward the portal closet next to Astrid's bedroom.

"This is a fun way to go," he commented. "Funner than a car!"

Lenora ruffled his hair and ushered him into the closet. A few minutes and a bright flash of light later, they found themselves in James' dimension. "Do you think Daddy will be happy to see me?" Henry asked.

"Well, of course!" Lenora replied. "He's _always_ happy to see you!" They made their way to the castle and got inside. It seemed to be empty. Finally, they heard a low moan coming from a room. They followed it and found James, heavily bleeding, on the floor.

"It's the treasure room!" Henry exclaimed. "Where did all the treasure go?"

James groaned. He was covered in blood.

"Is he _dead_, Mommy?" Henry asked Lenora. He looked frightened.

"No," Lenora got down on her knees next to James. "He's just hurt. You stay here with him while I go find something pointy. I'm going to make him better."

She left and Henry stared down at his father. "Come on!" He encouraged. "Get up! Mommy will make you better!"

James groaned again and actually tried to sit up, but couldn't. When Lenora came back, Henry asked her, "What are you going to do?"

Shutting her eyes, Lenora slashed the blade against her wrist and let the blood dribble into James' mouth. After several minutes, he finally sat up, breathing hard. "Thank-thank you," he said to her. "It's lucky you were here."

"Yes, it was," Lenora nodded, putting her arms around him. "What in the world happened to you?"

"The crew," he got out. "They came and they took it from me. Every coin, every jewel. There's nothing left. And after all the work your grandmother went through to get what of it she could from your other grandmother."

They sat in silence for a little while, then Henry got to his feet and came to sit in James' lap, taking something out of his pocket. It was a large blue marble. "Here," he said. "You can have this, Daddy."

James took it. "What is it?" He asked.

"My marble," Henry replied. "It's my favorite thing in the whole world."

"He's not kidding," Lenora replied. "He has a little bag for it and everything. I don't think he's ever gone anywhere without it."

"And you're giving it to _me_?" James asked, hugging his son. "Thank you!"

"You're welcome," Henry replied. He leaned against his father and they both looked at Lenora.

"What?" She asked.

"How's it going to be?" James asked her. "Like usual, where you drop him off and then leave, or do you intend to stay?"

Lenora looked around at the castle that she'd been so happy to leave. "Do you _have_ to stay here?" She asked. "We had such a nice house! Let's go back."

"I don't want any other house!" Henry said as James opened his mouth. "I like _this_ house!"

"And we can't go back to the other one," James admitted. "When I found out you and Henry were gone, I got upset and blew it up."

"You blew it up?" Lenora asked in shock. "Why? Why would you do that?"

"Because I'm just not cut out for a life in suburbia," James told her. "I don't care if it makes your aunt Lucy think less of me. I'd much rather stay here."

"Really?" Lenora asked.

"Really," James nodded. "Please, I am _begging_ you!"

"All right," Lenora sighed. "I guess we can stay here. But that doesn't mean _I'm_ not gonna leave here every so often to socialize. I _have_ to."

James shrugged. "That's not a problem. I'll stay here with Henry and Max while you go out and be sociable."

"Yes!" Henry nodded. "I like that idea! Daddy and I can play on the boat and he can tell me pirate stories!"

"How is that different from every other time you come over here?" Lenora asked.

"Now it will be_ all _the time!" Henry replied with a grin. "Go to Grandma Astrid's and get our stuff so we can live here!" Lenora gave him a look and he said, "Please."

"All right," she told him. She then looked at James. "Would you be willing to help me?" She asked.

"Of course," James nodded. "I'd be glad to help you. Lead the way."

* * *

They spent the rest of the day moving Lenora and Henry back into the castle, and that night, Lenora and James were together for the first time in three years.

"Did you miss me?" James asked her. Then he scoffed. "Why am I asking? I know you did!"

"Yeah," she replied, kissing him. "I missed you a lot! The reason why I left with Henry was because I didn't think you'd miss _me!_"

"Well, you were wrong about that," James told her. "_Very _wrong!" He buried himself inside her and kissed down her neck as she let out a shriek. After he rolled off her, she grinned. "I promise I wasn't with anyone else. Everyone else would be boring compared to you."

"Well, thank you," James replied. "You're a nice change from..._some_ people I've known in the past. And thank you for letting me see Henry. You could have kept him away, but you didn't."

"Well, what would it have solved for me to have kept him away?" She asked. "It just would have made me seem spiteful, especially since you two really seem to have bonded."

"Yes," James nodded. "He's the only person in this world that I love as much as you."

They kissed one more time and then there was a knock on the door. "Can I come in?" Henry called. "I think there's a monster under my bed!"

James and Lenora looked at one another and then quickly dressed.

"Come in, Henry!" Lenora called.

Henry came in and James patted a bare spot on the mattress between him and Lenora. "There's just enough room for you," he said.

Henry pulled himself up on the bed and crawled to the end. Lenora and James helped him get situated. and they all spent the rest of the night together as a family.

* * *

Katherine groaned as another guy led her into yet another fancy restaurant. Really, it was getting so tiresome. The same routine every night. She and a guy would go out to dinner, he'd pay, he'd make some smart-ass remark about wanting to get under her skirt, and she'd kill him. Nothing ever changed.

"Antonio," her date said to the host. "My woman and I will take my usual table by the door, please."

Antonio nodded and led them to a table. They sat down and just as Katherine was about to pick up her menu, she heard a voice.

"Mikaelson, table for two." The voice was deep and powerful, yet somehow familiar to her. She turned her head and tried to get a look at who'd spoken, but all she saw was the back of him: neatly trimmed brown hair and an immaculate suit. He had his arm around the waist of the willowy blonde standing next to him.

"Yes, sir," Antonio replied to him. "Come right this way." He led them to a table and they sad down. Finally, she got a look at the young man's face. She couldn't believe who it was. It was Gregory! She could swear it was. Her suspicions were confirmed when he ordered them wine and the young girl beside him said, "This place is so_ fancy_, Gregory! Waiters in tuxes, expensive wine. Here I am and it's not even prom yet!"

Katherine continued to stare at the pair until her date, tired of being ignored, commanded her attention. Katherine grudgingly turned back to him, although she still kept an ear on Gregory and his date. She managed to choke down what she ordered for an entree, then when Gregory stood up and headed in the direction of what she presumed was the bathroom, she got up to follow him.

"Where are you going?" Her date asked, momentarily detaining her. Katherine pulled her wrist from his grip. "I have to powder my nose," She said. "I presume I'm allowed to do that?" He scowled at her, but didn't try to detain her again. She carefully followed Gregory to the area where the bathrooms were. He made no indication that he knew she was there. When he headed into the men's room, she waited until he'd closed the door behind him and then strode over to pull it open and go in, causing a bunch of suddenly self-conscious males to cover themselves up. She locked eyes with all of them who were not Gregory and ordered them out. They glared at her resentfully, but left.

"What do you want?" Gregory asked her. "I'm kind of in the middle of something here."

"I know," Katherine replied. "But are you referring to the date you're on, or going to the bathroom?"

"It could be either one," Gregory replied, trying to keep a hold of his temper. "And neither one is any of your damn business!"

"I saw the girl you're with," Katherine continued. "She's pretty."

Gregory shrugged. "She's okay. No different from the others. Just the one who's the most persistent. I figured if I brought her here, it would be enough and after this, she'd go away. I'm not so sure now, though."

"I understand," Katherine nodded. "Sometimes you get stuck with people and the only thing you can do is kill them."

"I don't believe that," Gregory told her. "I believe what Father does: that you shouldn't kill people just because you can. There are other ways to handle things."

"Well, all right," Katherine nodded, touching his shoulder. "It was just a suggestion. I'll leave and let you get back to...what it was you were doing that I interrupted.

"Well, thanks," Gregory called after her as she disappeared. When he finished, he went back to the table where his date sat waiting. She was pouring herself another glass of wine. "What kept you?" She asked. "You were gone for such a long time!" She then knocked the wine carafe over and it spilled all over the white table cloth. "Oops!" She giggled. "What a mess."

Gregory looked down at the trail of red wine and then up at his date's jugular throbbing in her neck. A feeling of hunger overcame him and he could feel his fangs begin to lengthen. Why he hadn't fed today, he had no idea. And now he was paying for that mistake. Then, he paused. Even if he _did_ feed off her, what was so wrong about that? His mother had fed off people all the time at one point and _she_ never felt guilty about it. Maybe she was on to something.

"What's the matter?" Her voice broke his gaze on her neck. "Why are you staring at me like that?"

"Oh, well..." He winced. "I'm not feeling so good. Would you mind if we left? We can get you a bag for your dinner, I'm sure."

"Well, okay," she said and reluctantly followed him out to his new car that his parents had bought him for his sixteenth birthday. He helped her in the passenger's seat and he sat in the driver's seat. They sat in silence for a moment before the hunger became too much for Gregory to bear. He grabbed his date and began tearing away at her neck, feeling joy as her blood flowed into him and slaked his thirst. But she screamed and screamed. Finally, he made one last go for her jugular, ripping it open and lapping up the blood that spilled out. Once he was done, he looked down at her still, blood-covered body. He breathed deeply. Now what should he do with her? Suddenly, he heard a knock on his car window. Katherine was peering back at him. She opened the door and clicked her tongue. "What a mess in here. Did someone have a little accident?"

"Shut up and go away," Gregory told her. "I can handle this myself. I don't need you. And don't you _dare_ tell my father!"

"Why not?" Katherine asked. "I'm sure he'd be proud that you just killed someone in the front seat of a very expensive car."

"Shut up!" Gregory yelled. "And just get...the hell...away from me!"

Katherine just grinned and ruffled his hair. "You're a very competent killer," she praised. "And I'm so proud that I was able to be there to see you with your first body." She pretended to happy cry and when he lashed out at her, she just laughed and walked away, leaving Gregory alone in his car with a body and wondering what he should do now.

* * *

"Are you gonna be all right today?" Selina asked Elijah the next day. "Maybe I should take the triplets to kindergarten by myself."

"No," Elijah replied. "You don't need to do that. I can handle it."

"Are you sure?" Selina asked. "What if the thought of separating is too much for you _and_ Margaret? We have to get her into school somehow. I've had enough of keeping them home. They _need_ to go to school. They'll already be behind the others."

"Oh, it won't be hard," Elijah replied. "Annaliese will do the job for us. She got Margaret to start walking on her own and she'll give her the push to go into kindergarten."

"Yeah," Selina replied, giving Elijah a hug. "I bet you're really grateful for Annaliese, huh? She gives Margaret all the pushes forward that you're too emotional to yourself."

"Well, it's not my fault!" Elijah replied. "Margaret is a small, shy little girl! She needs to be protected!"

"No, she doesn't," Selina said. "You just think she does. Like, I was in your chair the other day and she came and ordered me out of it! Did you tell her to do that? Then, as fast as you please, _she_ sat in your chair. No one can sit in your chair!"

"Actually, she can," Elijah replied. "Cause she sits in it properly. She doesn't dangle her legs over the armrest and mess up the leather. The day you decide to sit properly, you can sit in my chair too."

"I don't believe this!" Selina exclaimed. "You're scolding me for just _sitting _in the chair and 'messing it up' when you and I have done _far_ worse things to that chair together when we were having sex than _anything_ I could have done by myself."

She waited for him to respond to that, but instead, he just turned and strode out the bedroom door without a word.

He found the triplets standing by the door with their backpacks on. "Are we going to school now, Daddy?" Annaliese asked. She and Tristan had been waiting for this day forever.

"And when we get there, will you stay with us?" Margaret added. Annaliese turned to her. "Why do you want him to stay with us at kindergarten?"

"Cause I do!" Margaret replied. "What if the other kids don't like me?" She looked at Elijah. "If the other kids don't like me, will you take me home?"

Elijah hugged her. "Of course the other children will like you!" He replied. "You have nothing to worry about. You won't even be gone for long. And then after school is over, your mother and I will come pick you up and you can tell us all about the friends you made and the toys you played with."

"I can't go!" Margaret said. "Who will watch your chair if I'm gone? Mommy might sit in it wrong!"

Elijah kissed her cheek. "You're sweet to worry," he said. "But I can keep a close eye on your mother while you're gone."

"Well, do it!" Margaret said. "She's _very_ sneaky about the chair."

Elijah picked her up. "I know," he said. "I noticed that myself."

"We have to go!" Annaliese said. "We're gonna be late!"

"Yeah!" Tristan replied. "Let's go!"

"They're right, you know," Selina told them. She gave Annaliese and Tristan hugs goodbye, told them good luck, and then watched as Elijah edged his way out the door, surrounded by three (well, two plus Margaret) extremely eager children.

When he returned, Selina looked up at the clock. "You made it back quick," she said with approval. "Did you convince Margaret to let you go?"

"I didn't have to work too hard," Elijah replied. "Luckily, she found the books and it was like I wasn't even there."

Selina came over and kissed him. "Are you gonna be okay?" She asked. "Or do you need some comforting?"

"I could use some comforting," Elijah said with a grin and put her over his shoulder. "Just not in my chair." He then carried her off to their bedroom and they made uninterrupted love for the first time in a very long time.


	42. A Hard Pill To Swallow

Gregory usually went to a coffee shop after school. He got himself a cup, sat down with his school books and tried to get a head start on his school work. As he stared intently at his algebra equations, the door to the coffee shop opened loudly and interrupted his thoughts. He looked up and saw Katherine striding in with a strange man on her arm.

"Well," she said, zeroing in on Gregory and dragging her date to his table. "Fancy meeting you here."

"Please go away," Gregory told her. "I'm trying to focus on my work."

"I just thought you'd want to meet my boyfriend. His name is Jeff."

Jeff gave him an uncomfortable 'Hello', and then Gregory went back to his book. Suddenly, it was pushed out from under his nose to the floor with a clatter. Gregory looked up at Katherine just in time to see her kiss Jeff on the lips. It didn't last long, though, as Jeff gently pushed her away. "What's the matter?" She asked.

He looked uncomfortably at Gregory. "Why are we doing this in front of him? Who _is _he?"

Gregory opened his mouth to introduce himself, but Katherine cut him off. "He's nobody, Jeff. Just a guy who can't get over me. I thought I would bring you here to demonstrate that I'm done with him and that I don't need him anymore." She turned away from Jeff and said to Gregory, "You heard that, right? I have no use for you anymore! We're done!"

"Okay," Gregory shrugged. "Fine with me. Have a nice life."

Instead of looking insulted, Katherine patted Gregory on the head. "I know you're heartbroken over my decision to end things between us, but here," she took her scarf from around her neck and threw it at him. "Have this to remember me by." She stared at Gregory, eagerly anticipating his reaction. He calmly took the scarf from his lap and used it to wipe some powdered sugar from the doughnut he'd been eating with his coffee off his face. "Thank you," he said, grinning at her. "This will be very useful for me." He then stood up and strode out without a word.

The next day, he was coming out of school and saw her standing near the bike rack with one of his close friends. They were making out and completely disregarding people's stares as they passed by.

He strode up to them and pulled Brad away from her.

"Hey!" He cried. "Do you mind? I'm busy!"

"Believe me," he said. "You don't want to be busy with her."

"I think I do," he replied. "Do you not see how pretty she is?"

"Oh, well, aren't you sweet?" Katherine replied. "Thank you for noticing what some _other_ people won't."

"Oh, I notice," Gregory said. "I'd have to be blind not to. But when the pretty face goes with a rotten personality, it doesn't really do much for me."

"It does for me!" Brad replied. He smiled at Katherine. "What do you say we continue this chat of ours in my car? It's got a big backseat."

"I would love that!" Katherine replied. "You sure know what to say to a girl." They started to stride off, leaving Gregory alone. He balled up his fists and grabbed Katherine's arm, pulling her away from Brad, kissing her roughly and deeply. When he let her go, she looked at him in shock. "Oh, my god," she breathed. She reached for him again and he shook his head. "Go and have your fun," he said. "You have no idea what we just did." She and Brad left, leaving Gregory alone. He leaned down and picked up rocks, throwing them at cars in the parking lot. As the alarms of several went off, he got in his car and drove home.

* * *

That night, he felt unsettled. It had jarred him more than he cared to admit to see Katherine with one of his best friends, even if he _had_ been compelled. It was one thing when she just dated random guys. That was all well and good, but his best _friend_? And Brad was human so it wasn't like he could do anything against her. Gregory decided he had to avenge his friend and he knew just how to do it. He would get inside her head, where he could make her think whatever he wanted, and she could do nothing about it.

* * *

Katherine felt restless that night, so she delayed going to bed. Finally, she stripped off her clothes and got into bed. She liked sleeping naked because the sheets felt cool against her skin. She clapped the lights off and shut her eyes.

_She was back at the school. It was a bright, sunny day and she and that boy Brad were making out. He was a surprisingly good kisser for someone so smart. They kissed until they were both gasping for breath, then, with a surprisingly wicked grin, he suggested they go back behind some bushes where they would be less likely to be seen. She agreed and they went behind a the bushes near the gym swimming pool. "Shut your eyes," he said to her. She did and felt him begin to slowly remover her clothes._

_"What are you doing?" She asked._

_"It's a surprise," he said. "Keep your eyes closed." She kept her eyes closed and when he pulled her to him and suggested that she undress him, she did so without hesitation. After a few minutes, he pulled her to him and began kissing her, his hands roaming over her naked body. It felt so good. "Can I open my eyes yet, you devil?" She asked._

_"All right," he whispered. "You can open your eyes now."_

_She opened her eyes and let out a shriek. It was not the nerdy yet adorable Brad who stood before her, but Gregory in all his glory. She opened her mouth to say something, but he took her in his arms and captured her mouth with his. Then, they fell into the pool as the sky darkened and thunder crashed overhead._

_"The lightning," she said as she surfaced._

_"What about it?" Gregory asked, pulling her to him and running his fingers over her stomach and breasts. "I wouldn't have thought you'd be scared of a little lightning, Katherine." He grinned a wicked grin._

_"I'm not," she said. "And that was really a horrible trick to play on me. I don't know how you did it."_

_"What trick?" Gregory asked. "It was me all the time." He eased her against the side of the pool and made love to her. When he was done, he swam to the steps and made his way up them, tossing her clothes beside her in the water. "You might wanna put those on and go home before this storm gets any worse."_

_She frowned at him, picked her soaking wet clothes up, and threw them onto the grass. And with one last clap of thunder overhead, she came to in her room, in her bed. Alone. No Gregory. No Brad. Just a dream._

* * *

"How was school today?" Elijah asked Laura. "Stimulating, I hope?"

"Sure," Laura nodded, blowing a gum bubble. "It was okay."

"Can I see your backpack?" Elijah asked. "I want to be sure there's nothing in there that we need to sign or something like that."

Laura held her bag close to her body and looked offended. "There isn't," She replied, pushing two hot pink streaks of hair off her face. "Why can't you just believe me when I say that?"

"I just want to be sure," Elijah replied. "We almost missed your parent-teacher conferences last semester because you 'lost' the paper saying when they were supposed to be!"

"And for that I'm continuously being punished by having my bag searched every day like some sort of prisoner?" Laura raged. "Daddy, this isn't fair!"

"Well, _life_ isn't fair," Elijah told her. "And I have reason to be concerned about your performance in school, don't I? I've noticed that your grades have fallen sharply as of late."

"It's not my fault," Laura said. "My teacher...he's a real ass!"

Elijah frowned at her. "Regardless of what you think of him personally, it is your job as a student to do your best on the work he gives you. Failing it will not do anything to him. It will just make more trouble for you. If your grades don't start to improve, I'll be hiring you a tutor, so there will be no going to the mall after school. Is that clear?"

"Fine," Laura replied, rolling her eyes. "Are we done here?"

"Not quite," Elijah replied. "Your bag please."

Laura slammed it down on the chair and then stomped off. Elijah began to dig through it, feeling exasperation over what a big mess it was: crumpled paper, pencil shavings, candy wrappers and more crumpled paper were everywhere he looked. It was a wonder that she could find anything. Finally, he pulled out something, thinking it would be the flyer advertising conferences, neatly folded amongst the mess. Instead, it was an envelope with Laura's name on it. He opened it and read it over, gasping. He strode into the kitchen, grabbed Selina's hand, and pulled her along after him to his office.

"What's the big fuss about?" Selina asked.

"Read this!" Elijah ordered her, slamming the envelope down. "Some boy is sending Laura love notes!"

Selina picked up the note and read it. "Awww!" She grinned. "Isn't that sweet?"

"No!" Elijah snapped. "It is _not_ sweet! It's disgusting! She's a little girl who should not be forced to deal with the catcalls and leers from boys!"

"A love letter is hardly a catcall or a leer," Selina corrected. "And she's _not_ a little girl. She's fourteen, for god's sake! It's not unheard of for girls her age to have guys notice them."

Elijah scoffed. "Next thing you know, she'll want to go to kissing parties and that will be yet _another_ thing that gets in the way of her schoolwork. There'll be time for dating when she's thirty, but not now!"

"So what are you gonna do?" Selina asked. "Lock her up in her room until then? You have to let her live her life and make her own choices no matter how much you might not like them."

"Oh, that's all well and good for you to say," Elijah replied. "You probably don't even care about the class she's failing, do you?"

"Yes," Selina said firmly. "I do care, and I am concerned. But I also think there has to be a reason why she's failing and if you gave her a chance to explain like a grownup instead of treating her like a child, you'd actually find a way to fix her bad grades! Do you _want_ her to resent you for the rest of her life? Cause that's what will happen if you keep acting like a giant dic...tator."

"Are you done?" Elijah asked.

"Yeah," Selina nodded. "I'm done. For now. But five bucks says we're going to be continuing this conversation tomorrow." She marched out of his office and went in search of Laura.

"Honey?" She said, knocking on Laura's bedroom door. "Can we talk?"

Laura opened the door and stared at her. "Well, you aren't Dad, so I guess you can come in."

Selina came in and sat next to Laura on her bed. "Your dad showed me this," she said, handing Laura the note. "Is there something you want to talk about?"

"No," Laura replied. "He's just a guy in my class. His dad owns a garage and he fixes cars. That's all. We eat lunch together and sit next to each other in classes, but that's all. I don't see why Dad has to make a big fuss about this."

Selina sighed. "Your father's just terribly protective," she said. "You're his first little girl and he wants to make sure you don't completely ruin your life."

"But isn't that up to me?" Laura asked her. "Shouldn't I be allowed to make my own mistakes?"

Selina put her arms around her. "I agree that you should be allowed to do that. Cause after so many mistakes, your dad begins to look really good. Believe me, no one knows that better than I do. Just be patient with him. He means well in his own overbearing yet loveable way."

"Can you get him to stop looking through my school bag every day too?" Laura asked.

"Well," Selina replied, "When it comes to your school work, I'm afraid I _do_ side with him a bit there. You're a smart girl, and you're not doing yourself any favors by being being lazy. It won't prove anything."

"Am I gonna get the 'I should feel blessed to even _have_ an education' speech?" Laura asked.

"No," Selina shook her head. "All I'm saying is that if your teacher really is as big of an asshole as you say, the way to punish him is not to get bad grades on your school work, but to make him eat his words by showing him how smart you really are. That will make him eat his words _and_ it will make your dad happy. He's already having a coronary about you getting attention from boys. Don't make him go into a metaphorical early grave by failing when you can succeed."

Laura sighed. "Oh, all right," she said. "I'll try and do better. Even if the teacher is a jerk and really _would_ benefit from something bad happening to him. Not permanently, of course. Just temporarily."

"If it's just temporary," Selina replied, "go ahead and do it. Get it out of your system. I promise it will be our secret and I won't tell your father."

* * *

"Stefan?" Felicity poked her head into Stefan's room. "Did you want to see me?"

Stefan looked up. "Yeah," he said. "Sit down, would you?"

Felicity came in and sat down on the bed. "What do you need?"

"I just thought I'd ask you for a favor," Stefan replied. "You can say 'no,' if you want to, of course, but...Anna's getting married again and for some reason, she decided to invite me to the wedding. Would you come with me? I want to show her that I'm perfectly okay with this."

"Why me?" Felicity asked. "I'm sure that there are much prettier women than me who you could take."

Stefan chuckled. "Yeah and how desperate would *that* look?" He asked. "Going to my ex's wedding with a good looking woman on my arm...seems like I'm trying too hard. Whereas, if I brought_ you_, well...it'd be something else entirely."

"Wow," Felicity grinned. "You must be desperate if I'm the first person you can think to ask. But sure, I'll go with you. Although, you could have said you didn't want to go."

"And that would make me seem like a coward," Stefan replied. "You see the difficult position I'm in here? If I take you, I'll just be the guy escorting the bride's niece to the wedding. That won't seem weird at all."

"Yeah," Felicity sighed. "I guess. Okay, I'll go to Aunt Anna's wedding with you. I wasn't planning on it, but I will. For you."

"So," Klaus said as he and Stefan made their way to the car for the wedding. "Are you going to be all right today? I really didn't think you'd want to come."

Stefan shrugged. "She invited me, didn't she? I just want to show her that I'm happy for her."

"Do you have a date?" Klaus asked. "Or are you just going to look over Anna's friends and pick one of them up?"

"I probably will do that at some point, but I got myself a date," Stefan replied.

"You did?" Klaus asked. "Who is it?"

"Wait a minute!" Felicity called. "Wait for me!" She came running toward them and Klaus got a glimpse of the back of her. "Pet, your zipper is down on the back of your dress."

"I know," Felicity nodded. "Will you zip me up?"

Klaus zipped her up and helped her into the car. She sat in the back while Stefan and Klaus sat in the front, and as they drove along, Klaus felt like he needed to ask, "So Lissy...what made you change your mind about coming?"

Felicity shrugged. "You were both going, so I figured, "Why not? There's gonna be cake and a chocolate fountain. I can't lose!" She paused. "You know, we never actually met the guy Aunt Anna's gonna marry. Why do you think that was? Do you think he knows what we are? It's gonna be a terrible shock for him if he doesn't."

"You make a good point," Klaus replied. "But I don't think you should ask her. Or ask him."

"Why not?" Felicity asked. "Is it because if I do, then it will be a missed opportunity for _you_?"

"Wow," Stefan replied. "I think she knows you very well, Nik."

"Well, I am Anna's brother," Klaus said stiffly. "I have the _right_ to ask."

"And no doubt Elijah's asked countless times too," Stefan added. "I mean, Anna might not have introduced her boyfriend to _us_, but she's friends with Selina, so Elijah probably met him at least once."

"Maybe not," Klaus replied. "Elijah and Selina have been busy with those triplets of theirs for a long time, so maybe Anna thought she shouldn't bother them."

"I guess we'll find out what everyone knows at the wedding, now won't we?" Felicity asked.

"Yes," Klaus nodded. "I believe we will."

When Stefan, Klaus, and Felicity arrived at the place where Anna's wedding was being held, the first thing Klaus did was look for Elijah while Stefan and Felicity got escorted to their seats by ushers.

"Elijah?" Klaus called. He kept yelling out as he walked through a corridor of doors. Finally, he heard Elijah reply to his calls. He opened the door the reply had issued from and found Elijah standing next to a wedding dress covered Anna.

"You look beautiful, sister," he told her.

"Thank you," Anna nodded. "I know you two haven't met this guy yet, but I really liked him and I worried that if I introduced you, you might scare him away. Cause he's human, you know, and-"

"You don't have to explain," Elijah told her. "We promise we'll be on our best behavior." He looked at Klaus for confirmation. "Won't we, Niklaus?"

"Oh, yes," Klaus nodded. "Of course we will. We wish you the best of luck. He's not a drunk is he?"

"No, he's not a drunk!" Anna replied. "What a thing to say! He's perfectly respectable, has a good job, and he wants kids. That's enough for me."

Just then, the door opened again. It was Selina with some things under her arm. "Okay," she said. "The last minute touches can now be made." She started a little when she saw Klaus. "When did you get here?" She asked.

"Just a few minutes ago," Klaus replied. "And yes, I _was_ invited."

"You're Anna's brother," Selina replied. "Why _wouldn't_ you be invited? Did Stefan come too?"

"Yeah," Klaus nodded. "He did. And Felicity. They're in their seats already."

"Did Stefan say he felt awkward being here?" Anna asked. "I mean, I know he's my ex and all, but I hoped we were still good enough friends for me to invite him."

"No, he didn't say anything about feeling awkward," Klaus assured her. "And since Felicity came with us, I'm sure she'll entertain him."

Selina deftly did Anna's makeup and checked her watch. "Ten minutes to spare," she said. "Are you ready?"

"Yeah," Anna nodded, gazing at herself in the mirror. She was wearing a pouffy dress whose skirt completely concealed the bottom of the chair she was sitting in and the floor nearby. She wasn't wearing a veil, but her hair was braided and held back with a pearl comb. "As ready as I'll ever be."

"Well," Elijah looked at Klaus. "Now that we've given you our words of encouragement, if you don't need us for anything else, we'll go to our seats."

They left the room and Klaus said to Elijah, "Do you think the poor sap she's marrying knows the truth about her?"

"I would hope she does," Elijah replied. "But whether he does or he doesn't, that's his and Anna's affair, not ours. We'll just smile, say 'Congratulations' when the time comes, and that will be our involvement."

"And I told Felicity not to say anything either," Klaus replied.

"Frankly, I trust her to keep quiet more than I trust you," Elijah replied.

The wedding went off without a hitch and at the reception, Felicity stayed near the chocolate fountain while Stefan danced with and got numbers from every bridesmaid he saw.

Finally, it was time for the last dance. Felicity ate one more chocolate strawberry and then went to tap Stefan on the shoulder. "Hey," she said. "I know I'm not actually your date and that you're kind of busy getting a real one and all, but...you wanna dance with me?"

Stefan just stared at her for a few seconds. Then, he smiled. "Sure," he said, tucking the list of bridesmaids' numbers in his pocket. "Why not? Let's do it!"

The last dance was a slow one, and Felicity's cheeks reddened as she admitted she had no real idea _how_ to dance.

"Well, I do," Stefan told her. "I'll help you." They made their way through a clumsy waltz, with her only stepping on his toes a couple of times. When the music was over, she smiled. "I think I did okay for my first time," she said. "Should we get some ice for your foot?"

"No," Stefan replied. "I'll be fine." He went to sit down and stayed that way until everyone made their way out the door, throwing rice and confetti at Anna and her new husband and wishing them the best of luck on their new life.


	43. Call Me 'Captain'

"Where are you going?" Henry asked Lenora.

She shrugged. "I'm just going out to visit people. I'll be back later."

"Can I come with you this time?" He asked. "I want to meet people too!"

Lenora turned to face him. "Really?" She asked. "Do you?"

"Yeah!" Henry nodded. "I want to see what you think is so interesting."

"Well, in that case," Lenora replied, "there's somewhere special I want to take you so you can meet someone."

"Who is it?" Henry asked as he followed her to the closet. "Is it a friend of yours?"

"No," Lenora shook her head. "It's my grandmother. She has a bakery and I think you'll like her."

"A bakery?" Henry asked, looking intrigued. "Like with cake and cookies and stuff?"

"Yeah," Lenora nodded. "Exactly. And," she finished. "Your grandmother is the star of all the stories I tell you at bedtime."

Henry's eyes widened. "You mean the ones with the lady who killed people in France and then she was being chased by that bad man so she had to go and live in America under another name? She's_ real_?"

"Yeah," Lenora smiled. "I'm glad you like those stories. I know they aren't as exciting as your father's pirate adventures, but they're all I've got."

"I think they're _very_ exciting," Henry said solemnly. "Is she a nice person or will she hurt me?"

"She's very nice," Lenora assured Henry. "I mean, she and your father got into a fight once and she hurt him pretty bad, but that was only because he tried to start a fight with her. If you're nice to her, she'll be nice to you. I _swear_."

Henry swallowed and nodded. As they reached the portal closet, James happened upon them. "Want to practice your swordfighting?" He asked Henry.

"Not right now," Henry shook his head. "Mommy and I are going to meet people. She's taking me to her grandma's bakery!"

James looked at Lenora. "When you say 'grandma', you mean..."

"The one who tried to kill you!" Henry exclaimed. "But Mommy says if I'm nice to her, she'll be nice to me. And that you _weren't_ nice to her."

"Let's not talk about that anymore, Henry," Lenora cut him off. "We don't want to bring up bad memories for your father."

James scoffed. "Having a bitch nearly bite off my hand is not the worst thing that's happened to me," he said. "I can talk about it."

"Yeah," Lenora nodded. "You can, but I'm not in the mood to listen anymore. What do you want from the bakery? We'll bring you back something."

"Don't bother," James replied. "If she knows it's for me, it'll probably be poisoned."

"Grandma Selina has more professional integrity than that, James," Lenora told him. "We'll buy a dozen cookies and save some for you. Then, when you see we're still alive and _haven't_ been poisoned, maybe you'll start acting reasonably."

They left and when they reached Selina's bakery, Henry said to Lenora, "Are you and Daddy fighting again? Are we gonna leave?"

"Of course we're not gonna leave your father again!" Lenora assured him. "But sometimes, your father acts like a child and I have to show him that that isn't an appropriate way to conduct himself, and that it's better for him to act like an adult."

"Oh," Henry nodded. "Do _I_ have to act like an adult?" He asked.

"No, of course not," Lenora replied. "You're still a child!"

A cake in the window of the bakery caught Henry's eye. It was three-tier and frosted bright colors. "Do you think Grandma will let me eat _that_?" He asked, his expression greedy.

"I don't think you could eat three layers of cake by yourself," Lenora told him as they went inside.

"Yes I could!" Henry told her. "Watch me!" He strode up to the counter and got Selina's attention. "Can I have the cake in the window?" He asked. "Mommy says I can't eat all of it, but I want to show her I can!"

Selina looked up and saw Lenora gazing at her apologetically. "I'm sorry," she said. "He inherited his father's competitive nature."

Selina smiled. "I know all about that," she said. Then she told Henry, "The big cake there is just for show, but how about I make you a slightly smaller one and we'll time you to see how long it takes for you to eat it?"

"How _much_ smaller?" Henry asked. "Not too much smaller!"

"Okay, okay," Selina told him. "Not too much smaller." Then she looked at Lenora. "This is all right with you?" She asked. "I won't do it if you think he'll make himself sick."

"It's okay for you to do it," Henry said before Lenora answered. "That's what grandmas are supposed to do for their grandkids!"

"I don't mind," Lenora told Selina. "It's okay."

Selina invited Lenora and Henry into the kitchen and they helped her make the cake he was gonna eat.

"No pink!" Henry told Selina when it was time to frost it. "Just green and blue!"

"Aye aye, Captain!" Selina replied and saluted.

Henry looked at Lenora with delight in his eyes. "Did you hear, Mommy? She called me 'Captain!' _Daddy _won't even do that. I'm always his little first mate." He scowled at this. James was going to have something to answer for when they got back.

They got the cake frosted and Selina brought it out and announced to everyone that Henry was gonna eat the whole thing. Once everyone realized that she was serious, they were ready to cheer for him and one of the customers even called a film crew to document the whole thing. Henry gloried in the attention and he _did_ manage to finish the entire cake (Although Lenora was sure he'd had some magical assistance toward the end.) Even so, as they were leaving the bakery with the cookies for James, Henry asked Lenora if they could temporarily zap a TV into the castle so that his father could see that he was famous.

"Sure," Lenora nodded. "Why not? I'm sure your daddy will be very proud of you."

"Yeah," Henry replied. "And now that I'm famous, I'm telling Daddy he has to call me 'Captain' and that I'm not gonna be his little first mate anymore!"

* * *

"Are you still upset about this Laura thing?" Selina asked that night as she and Elijah prepared for bed. "It's been over a week since you found out about the note. If you don't mind my saying so, it's getting to be ridiculous. You weren't even listening when I told you about seeing Lenora and her son at the bakery today!"

"It is not!" Elijah replied. "How can you think that? All I'm doing is showing concern for the welfare of my child!"

Selina nodded. "That's okay," she said. "A bit extreme in my opinion, but okay. But have you stopped to think about what this obsession of yours is doing to us? We haven't had sex in a week! For us, that's like the most unfortunate record ever! Why are you doing this to me?!"

"Because," Elijah told her. "I have my reasons and I don't have to explain them to you!"

"Oh, yes you do!" Selina exclaimed. "I respect your right to privacy and all but when the thing you want to keep private affects me, I deserve to know about it. Does it have something to do with Laura?"

Elijah sighed. "Yes," he said. "It does."

"And?" Selina continued.

"And I've just been tired lately," Elijah replied. "That's why we haven't done anything. But I'll be better soon, dear."

Selina rolled her eyes. "You know," she said getting next to him. "I can do this all night. Until you give me a good answer about why I haven't seen you naked for a whole week, I'm _not_ letting this go."

Elijah sighed, narrowing his eyes at her. "Think about it," he said. "The thought of any boy near Laura makes me cringe. Who's to say that your father doesn't feel the same way about _you_ and men?"

Selina shut her eyes. "Let me get this straight," she said. "We haven't had sex in a week because you're scared of my father?"

"Not scared," Elijah countered. "Respectful of."

"You've _met_ my father," Selina reminded him. "He liked you. Hell, even my mother liked you. We're also adults and married. You have nothing to be nervous about."

"I'm not nervous!" Elijah exclaimed. "I've given you an answer like you wanted. Now let's just let this go and go to bed."

* * *

"...All right, Daddy," Selina said. "We'll see you soon, then. Bye."

"'Daddy'?" Elijah asked as he came up behind her and put his arms around her waist. "What's that about?"

"I told my father you and I were coming to visit him today," Selina replied. "And it was a good thing too, because I don't know how long it's been since I saw him last."

"Well, that's good, then," Elijah told her. "You go visit your father and I'll stay here. You can tell me how it went when you come back."

"You're not staying here," Selina told him. "You're coming with me. You _have_ to."

"No, I don't," Elijah replied, letting her go and going to the opposite side of the kitchen. "I don't _have_ to do anything!"

Selina sighed and followed him. "Look," she said sternly. "I know this whole Laura-boy thing has made you out of sorts and that's one thing. But to have it affecting you and me too, that is just too much. You are going to talk to my father, you are going to tell him what you're nervous about, he will give you his blessing, and then everything will be okay."

"I don't know..." Elijah trailed off.

"Don't you worry," she said. "My dad looks all of twenty-two and he's very lithe. Not a very intimidating-looking guy at all. You'll do fine."

"Fine," Elijah said. "If going with you to talk to your father is the way to get you off this ridiculous train of thought you're on, I'll humor you."

"Frankly, you're the one who's being ridiculous, but thank you," Selina replied. "See you in the car in a few minutes."

Elijah rolled his eyes and went to shower and dress, lingering as long as possible before going outside.

"Well, _there_ you are!" Selina replied with a grin when she saw him. "You took so long I was beginning to get worried. I thought you'd fallen in the toilet or the shower or something. But you were just dawdling, weren't you?"

"I was being thorough with my cleaning and my dressing," he said stiffly. "You don't dress as well as I do just by throwing clothes on. It takes preparation and careful thought."

"Uh-huh," Selina nodded. "You were dawdling cause you're scared of my dad. You're being silly. All you have to do is see him and you'll realize how silly you're being."

Selina drove them into Mystic Falls, through the town, and to a ramshackle antebellum house that looked deserted.

"Are you sure this is the right place?" Elijah asked her, thinking of their well-lit, well-kept house. "Maybe we should look somewhere else."

"No, we shouldn't," Selina told him as she made her way to the door. "This is an old house. I was born in it. And Dad doesn't care how it looks from the outside. Myself, I think it lends the place character." She made sure he was standing behind her, held his hand, and then knocked on the door. Elijah closed his eyes until the door opened and then he opened them, surprised to see a smiling young man with dark hair and bright green eyes on the other side. He took Selina in his arms and hugged her.

"Where have you been?" He asked. "Too busy to visit your old dad?"

"Well, yes," as a matter of fact," Selina admitted. "We've spent the last five years raising triplets, so..."

Her father's eyes widened. "Triplets?! How did I not know about this?"

Selina grinned. "Well, how about you invite us in and we'll give you the details?"

"Oh, sorry!" Matthew Warren replied. "Where are my manners? Come in, please!"

Selina bounded inside but Elijah followed behind her at a slower pace. Matthew gave him a grin. "Are you all right?" He asked. "You don't look well."

"I'm fine," Elijah said quickly. "And I have the utmost respect for your daughter, I promise."

"Relax," Matthew told him. "I know you do." He gave Elijah another look and then headed into the house where he sat next to Selina. "Is Elijah all right?" he asked. "He seems jittery."

"He's scared of you," Selina explained. "Laura is starting to get attention from boys and that freaked him out, and then he got even _more_ scared when he realized that you might view him the same way that _he_ views the guy who likes Laura. I tried to explain to him that you like him and we're married and that anything we do is okay with you, but he doesn't believe me. And he hasn't come near me in a week."

When Elijah finally made it to the living room, he sat down in a chair on the opposite side of the room from Matthew and refused to look him in the eye. Matthew got out of his chair and came to sit next to Elijah. "Hey," he said. "She told me what you're worried about. And you're fine. I'm not worried about you at all. You're a stable guy. You're smart, you look out for her. She hasn't had it much over the years and I'm glad she finally found it for herself." He gave Selina a look. "But if you ask me, it took her _way_ too long."

"Hey!" Selina replied. "I could have been with him in 1863! Mama would have approved, but he left and made me forget about him. It wasn't my fault!"

"Yeah, but _Damon?"_ Matthew asked. "He was a good friend to you, I know. But long-term, I knew that what happened would happen."

"You know Mama only let us get engaged because he was going off to war and would most likely die," Selina replied. "Then she was gonna set me up with Tommy Fell's brother, Ethan. Can you imagine me with a guy like that? He would have been so wrong for me! I would have been miserable!"

Matthew gave Elijah a wink and then said to Selina, "Frankly, my dear, I respectfully disagree about that. Here is a man who is every inch the sort that Ethan Fell turned out to be and you love him. Admit it."

"Yeah, I do," Selina replied. "But _he_ is not Ethan Fell, and if I would have had to marry Ethan Fell, then I never would have gotten to marry him." She paused. "He came at the right time," she said. He showed up when I'd just been through so many bad relationships that I wondered if I was even loveable at all. He was patient with me, and showed me that I _was_ worth it, and that he accepted me for myself, which not many people had up until I met him. Usually the people that did _were_ the guys who were bad for me. I wasn't trying to be rebellious or make Mama or anyone else miserable by going after all these 'unacceptable' guys. I just wanted to be with someone who would accept me for who I was, and the guys Mama pushed at me usually didn't do that." She paused and looked at Elijah. "And that's probably all Laura wants too: a guy who will accept her for who she is, wild hair and all. She's not trying to make you frustrated. She just wants to figure out who she is and you thinking you can make her do what you want, or trying to turn her into your ideal, is not going to help. GIve her a break, would you? We could ask her to meet the boy who sent her the note. More than likely, you'll find that you worried for nothing."

"Fine," Elijah replied. "I'll ask Laura if I can meet the boy."

"Good," Selina nodded.

"And as for my side of things," Matthew told him, "I've only ever killed one man for hurting her. And I know in my heart that I won't ever have the same urges with you. You're good with me."

"Even though she and I...you know..." Elijah made a fiddling motion with his hand. "Doesn't that _bother_ you?"

"Well, you're married to her, aren't you?" Matthew asked.

"Yes," Elijah nodded.

"You love her don't you?"

Elijah nodded again.

Matthew shrugged. "I have no problem. Don't forget, I've spent time in bed with a woman myself. How do you think Selina got here?"

"Oh, _Daddy_!" Selina exclaimed, looking disgusted. "New subject, please!"

"Okay," Matthew said, giving her a wicked grin. "Before you go, we need to set a date for me to come over and meet the triplets!"

"I'm sure we can think up a date," Selina replied.

"Would next week sometime work?" Matthew asked her.

"Yeah," Selina nodded. "I think we can fit you in."

* * *

"Laura!" Roxie replied as Laura strode into Enid's. "How are you?"

"Fine," Laura grumbled.

"Really?" Roxie asked. "You don't _seem_ fine. The usual?"

"Yeah," Laura nodded, putting her chin down on the bar. "Please. And keep them coming."

"Bad day?" Roxie asked as she mixed up Laura's usual root beer float. "Wanna talk about it?"

"It's nothing," Laura told her. "Just my dad. He found out that a guy at school likes me and now he's freaking out."

Roxie sucked in her breath. "Ouch," she replied. "It's always tough when that happens."

"I know, right?" Laura replied. "And he wouldn't have found out about it if he'd just minded his own business instead of rooting around my backpack like I was some sort of criminal. And the thing was, I hadn't even _opened_ the note yet, even though I had a pretty good idea of what it said." She sighed. "You're so lucky you have Uncle Klaus for a dad. I bet he was less of a pill about you and boys than _my_ dad is."

Roxie snorted and some root beer flowed over the glass and onto the bar. "Oh, honey," she said. "I didn't have it easier than you. _Trust_ me. When I was sixteen, I had a pregnancy scare and when my father found out, he had some of his goons beat Vince senseless. The guy was on crutches for weeks! So if you ask me, I'd take your dad over mine in that situation any day. And besides, you have Mom to calm him down. Not so effective with my dad. They pretty much just fed off each other's feelings most of the time."

The door to the bar opened again and this time, Felicity strode in. "Hey, Laura!" She greeted her cousin. "A root beer float?" She asked as Roxie plunked it down in front of her. "Bad day?"

Laura nodded. "The worst."

"What about you?" Roxie asked Felicity. "You feeling good, or are you full of woes too?"

"No," Felicity shook her head. "I'm fine. I just came to visit. Can I have a root beer float anyway?"

"Sure," Roxie made one up for Felicity.

"I didn't have problems, but now I'm not so sure about that," Felicity told Roxie. "Is Dad _really_ gonna freak out about the boys I date?"

"Well, you and he are really close, right?" Roxie asked.

"Yeah," Felicity nodded. "I would say so."

"Well, then, unless Daddy has someone with him to keep him calm or distract him, I'm sorry to say that you're screwed," Roxie told her. "Unless of course the guy you like is a werewolf who can be made into a hybrid." She paused. "I forgot. Dad's not _allowed_ to make hybrids anymore. Magical overlord rules. Is there anyone else living in your house who could distract him? Or is it just the two of you?"

"Stefan's there," Felicity told her, then took a long pull from her root beer float. "Should I talk to him?"

Roxie shrugged. "It wouldn't hurt to give it a shot."

"And Mom knows about Dad being crazy," Laura said. "It's affecting her as much as it's affecting me and she thinks she's come up with a way to fix it. They went out of town today and they're gonna be back sometime tonight."

"Hey," Addie said, coming downstairs from Enid's apartment carrying books under her arm. "What's going on?"

"We're talking about our crazy, overprotective fathers," Laura replied. "Do you have any stories to share?"

"No," Addie shook her head. "_My_ dad's cool."

"Taking a break from studying?" Roxie asked.

"Obviously," Addie replied. "How come Joey never gets to come here? How come it's only me?"

Roxie quickly put her hand over Addie's mouth and cast a hunted look around the bar. "You can't talk about him around here," she said. "I'll tell you when we get home." She removed her hand. "Can I get you anything?"

"Just a lemonade," Addie said. "I don't need pop or anything." She looked at Laura. "So did you find out what that note in your locker said?"

"Not personally," Laura replied. "I put the note in my bag to read when I got home, but then my father saw fit to look through my things and he found the note and opened it, read it, found out that it was from a boy and now he's being crazy."

"How about you try and bring Ryan to your house to meet your parents?" Addie suggested. "The note _was_ from Ryan, wasn't it?"

"Yeah," Laura nodded. "It was."

"And he's a nice guy," Addie continued. "So bring him to your house one day, introduce him to your parents, make it absolutely clear that there's_ nothing _romantic between the two of you, and your dad will calm down."

"I don't know about that," Laura sighed. "It's worth a shot, though."

Roxie looked at Felicity. "Are you bored, sweetie?"

"No," Felicity shook her head. "This information is all very useful to me." She finished her drink and stood up. "I think I'll go talk to Stefan now so that I don't end up in the same bad situation as all the rest of you."

"Good luck!" Roxie called as Felicity made her way toward the door and to her bicycle.

"Thank you!" Felicity called back. "I might need it!"

* * *

"How was your visit to Enid's?" Stefan asked Felicity. "Did you see anyone interesting?"

"Yeah," Felicity nodded. "Laura was there. And later, Addie showed up. And Roxie was working the bar."

"Did you all talk about anything?" Stefan asked.

"Laura was upset about Uncle Elijah finding out about a boy she liked and then Roxie said that Daddy will probably act the same way when I date a boy." She paused. "When I start liking boys, will you make sure Daddy doesn't get too mad at me?"

"Maybe," Stefan replied. "I suppose I could talk to him about _me_ being the one who makes sure all your dates are good people."

"How about you don't?" Felicity asked. "How about you have nothing to do with the boys I like whatsoever?"

"It's gonna have to be either your father or me," Stefan told her. "Take your pick, but personally, I think_ I'm _the safer bet."


	44. Four Little Words

"Laura," Elijah said to his daughter when she came home from school that day. Laura just gave him a look and put her bag down on the table, unzipping it. "You can look all you want," she told him. "But you won't find anything interesting."

"I didn't want to talk about _that_," Elijah told her. "I just wondered if perhaps you wouldn't mind asking the boy who wrote you that note to come to dinner so your mother and I can meet him."

"Why do you want to meet him?" Laura asked. "So you can give him the third degree and criticize everything about him?"

"I'll try my best not to do that," Elijah promised. "I just want to see what he's like, that's all. You've never talked to me about any of your friends before."

"Well," Laura responded, "there's a reason for that, but if you promise to be open-minded and kind to Ryan, I'll ask if he wants to come to dinner."

"Thank you," Elijah told her as she picked up her bag. "I appreciate it."

* * *

"So you met my father," Selina told Elijah that night as she undressed and he tucked himself into bed. "He gave you his blessing, told you you were wonderful and the only halfway decent romantic choice I ever made. Do you feel better? Can we have sex now?"

"No," Elijah shook his head. "I want to wait until we meet the boy that's sending notes to Laura. Surprisingly, it didn't take much to get her to allow us to meet him."

"Yeah," Selina responded dryly. "She's probably at the point where she'll do whatever she has to to get you to lay off her."

"And here we go," Elijah told her, rubbing his temples. "You're deriding me again for being too strict."

"No, that is not the point now, although it _is _a concern of mine," Selina replied. "What is going on between Laura and that boy has nothing to do with you and me, so why do we have to wait until after we meet him to have sex? Do you not find me attractive anymore? Is that why you're stalling? You can be honest. I can take it."

"I _do _still find you attractive," Elijah told her. "And I suppose if it's that important to you, I could spare a few minutes."

Selina's eyes widened. "_A few minutes_? No. I wouldn't want to force you to do something you don't want to do. I think I'll wait until it can be a lingering and enjoyable experience for both of us, and you obviously have no time for that right now."

"Exactly!" Elijah told her. "Finally, you're learning." Selina rolled her eyes and got into bed beside him. He turned off the light above the bed and fell asleep immediately.

* * *

"What's that?" James asked a couple of days later when Lenora came into the bedroom holding a rose Henry had given her.

"I got it from Henry," Lenora told him, her voice filled with fondness. "He gave it to me and told me I was pretty. I guess it was some sort of 'thank you' for taking him to the bakery where he was made a TV star."

She gave James a grin, sat down on the bed, and started to undress.

"You know," he told her, "That reminds me: I've got something for you too."

"Oh, honey, don't!" Lenora told him. "You don't have to give me something just because Henry gave me something. I won't love you any less. I don't work that way!"

"That's not what this is about!" James told her as he rifled around in the drawers of the dresser. "Where did I put it?"

"Okay," Lenora replied, humoring him. "What is it?"

"It's a pearl necklace," James replied. "Actual pearls. I took it from the bunch of treasure I got from your grandmother and hid it away, intending to give it to you. When the crew came for the rest of the treasure, naturally, they didn't get their hands on it. Ah!"

He picked up the necklace of creamy, shimmering pearls and showed it to her. "Isn't it beautiful?"

"Yeah," Lenora replied, her eyes locked on it as she took off her socks. "It really is."

"If you'll push your hair off your neck," James told her, "I'll put it on you."

Lenora did as he asked and he put the necklace on her. "Beautiful," he said. "Now, let's see how it looks without all the clutter around it."

"What clutter?" Lenora asked.

"_This_ clutter," James replied, slowly laying her down on her back and removing her clothes until she was naked in front of him. "Beautiful," he whispered again, running his hand up her bare stomach and giving her shivers. "Simply beautiful."

"You undress too," she got out.

James gave her a wicked grin and removed his shirt, slowly removed his pants. He fell on top of her and planted lingering kisses all over her body.

As he got inside her, she gasped and clutched him, her nails going down his back and leaving marks. They mussed up his hair, and at one point she even broke a nail, but she didn't even care. He was just so _good._

Finally, sweating and tired, they clutched each other, breathing hard, his head on her chest. Then, she took his face in her hands so that he was looking her square in the eye, kissed him deeply and said, "I love you, James."

* * *

"It's a full moon tonight," Katherine told Gregory as he walked toward his car from school the next day. "You know what that means, don't you?"

"No," Gregory shook his head. "And I doubt it would even matter to me. What are you doing hanging around a school anyway? You don't even drive us home anymore!"

"It's the one place I know you are every day," Katherine replied. "And it _should_ matter to you. By telling you so that you have time to prepare, I'm really doing you a favor."

Gregory burst out laughing at this. "You, do _me_ a favor? Yeah, I doubt it."

"Did you know that your mother has the werewolf gene and passed it on to you?" Katherine asked. "And since you killed that girl at the restaurant, tonight you're going to turn into a werewolf for the first time?"

"Don't be ridiculous," Gregory told her. "I can't turn into a werewolf! I'm already a vampire!"

"Do you know your Uncle Klaus?" Katherine asked him. "Or your mother? Or your cousin-slash-half-brother Adrian? I could name several other people in your family tree who are evidence that it's quite possible for a vampire from your family to be a vampire and a werewolf at the same time."

She thought he was just going to ignore her, but instead, he grabbed her, pulled her close to him so that their lips were nearly touching and growled softly "I don't believe you." He then let her go. "Get out of my sight," he told her. "I don't want to see your face or hear you tell me any more nonsense about me turning into a werewolf tonight!"

"Fine," Katherine said, putting her hands up and backing away. "Don't listen to me." She paused and she delivered her next sentences in a shaky stutter. If it had been possible, Gregory would have thought she was holding back tears."B-b-but d-don't blame me either when b-b-bad things h-happen to you and you d-d-don't have the slightest idea about how to d-d-deal with them." Eyes flashing, she grabbed his hand and squeezed it hard. Groaning in pain, he heard the bones in his fingers crack. He pulled his hand out of Katherine's grip and struck her across the face. "You _bitch_! You're out of your mind! Get the hell away from me!"

Katherine gave him one last penetrating look and walked away from him without a word. He watched her disappear and then, wincing, waiting for the bones in his hand to right themselves. They did so just as Colin and Laura approached the car.

"Can I practice driving today?" Laura asked. "Please? Remember, now that I have my permit, Mom said you had to let me drive every once in awhile."

"Yeah, putting all three of our lives in peril every time," Colin said.

"Oh, shut up!" Laura shot back. "I haven't done so bad!"

"Both of you get in the car!" Gregory roared. "No one besides me is driving today, all right? Laura, you can practice tomorrow."

"Fine," Laura replied. "Who gets to sit shotgun?"

"It's Colin's turn," Gregory answered tersely. "Laura, get in the back."

"Geez," Laura said. "You're very crabby today. Not that you're Mr. Sunshine normally, but today you seem worse."

"Thanks for noticing," Gregory replied dryly. "Did you not hear me tell you to get in the damn car?!"

Although she was unafraid of Gregory's display of temper, Laura scurried into the backseat anyway, and Colin into the front seat. They drove home without a word and Gregory shut himself up in his room while Laura helped Selina clean the house to prepare for her friend coming to dinner.

"After he comes," Laura asked Selina, "will Daddy calm down or is he gonna be angry about this forever?"

"I _hope_ this will make him feel better," Selina told her. "I _really_ do because being as agitated as he is right now all the time would not be good for him."

When it was five minutes til seven, the time when Ryan was supposed to arrive, Elijah came in the living room to wait by the door. He was wearing an immaculate suit and had perfect posture.

"Well, you look nice," Selina commented. "What's the occasion?"

"I just want to look presentable for Laura's friend," Elijah told her. "What's so wrong about that?"

"Are you gonna want him to be dressed up too?" Laura asked. "Because I didn't mention it to him."

"Of course not," Elijah replied, looking smug. "It's just how I am. I don't expect everyone to be able to live up to my standards."

Laura and Selina looked at each other. This was so typical. "Are you trying to intimidate him?" She asked. "Do you think that when he sees our fancy house and you in your suit that he's just gonna get frightened and run away?"

"No," Elijah shook his head. "What I hope tonight will make him realize is that by associating with you, he's bringing himself into a particular type of environment that is suitable for certain types of people, and that if he's not up to dealing with how we are, he's free to go on his way and associate with people who are more liberal."

"How considerate of you," Laura replied dryly. "But I don't think that tactic will work with him. See, his dad is a banker and just as snobby as you, so he's used to what you're doing and totally prepared to fight against it. But you're gonna be polite to him, right?"

"Am I ever impolite?" Elijah asked innocently.

The doorbell rang and as Elijah went to answer it, Laura asked Selina, "Why don't Colin and Gregory have to join us?"

"Because Colin has important homework he needs to finish and Gregory is helping him," Selina replied. "They ate dinner earlier." The triplets, of course, had been sent to their room for quiet time and to get ready for bed earlier in the evening.

Elijah opened the door and his jaw dropped a little when he saw the boy on the other side. HIs clothes were torn, frayed, and stained with grease and his long blond hair, like Laura's was full of multiple colors. "Hey, man," he said to Elijah. "How're you doing? Nice suit. Very _GQ._"

"Thank you," Elijah replied. "You must be Laura's friend. _I'm_ her father."

"Great!" Ryan replied with a grin, shaking Elijah's hand with a strength and enthusiasm he hadn't expected. " I'm Ryan. I would have recognized you anywhere. Laura said you were like my banker father and she was right." He turned his attention to Selina. "And who might you be, pretty lady? Laura's sister?"

Laura noticed Elijah tensing. "Actually," she said quickly, "this is my mother. Mom, this is Ryan."

Selina shook his hand. "Nice to meet you," she said. "I've heard lots of good things about you."

"Are you sure you two aren't sisters?" Ryan asked Selina. "You look _way_ too young to be Laura's mother."

"I use a special kind of cream for my face," Selina said. "Very rare, yet as you can see, very effective. But I _am_ her mother. And I have the embarrassing baby pictures to prove it. I'm sure I don't need to pull those out."

"No," Laura shook her head. "He believes you."

Clearing his throat, Elijah herded the three of them to a neatly set table. "The food will be in in about half an hour," he said as Alistair appeared with a tray of appetizers. "I hope you're hungry.

As they ate, they tried to ignore a persistent knocking and banging from upstairs that had been going on ever since the moon came up. Suddenly, Colin came running downstairs. He looked terrified and was crying.

"What's the matter?" Selina asked. "Colin, are you okay? Are you hurt?"

"Upstairs!" Colin cried. "Something horrible upstairs! Come with me now!"

He pulled Selina to the stairs and she zipped up them and reached Colin's door. Growls were issuing from it. "What in hell?" Selina asked. "Colin, you haven't brought home any pets, have you?"

"Not intentionally," Colin told her. "He just sort of...appeared in my room. Go in there and get him, please! Before he destroys everything!"

Selina opened the door, expecting to see a hyperactive puppy or something, but instead found herself face to face with a good-sized male wolf. "Oh, my god," Selina whispered. "Colin, is that _Gregory_?"

"Yeah," Colin replied, edging behind his mother. "He was helping me with my homework and then the moon came up and he started to yell and scream and twitch, and then he turned into _that."_ He let out a yell as the wolf noticed them and advanced. "Run to Mommy and Daddy's room," Selina told Colin. "And don't come out until I say so, all right?"

"Okay!" Colin said and zipped away. Once he was gone, Selina turned to face her other son. He let out a growl, thinking she was gonna turn and fight him, but Selina knew that was unnecessary. Instead. she opened Colin's bedroom window, which he must've closed when he realized what was happening, and began trying to herd Gregory towards it.

He didn't go for it right away and pounced on her instead, but she managed to get him off her and out the window. Breathing hard, she looked out into the night, hoping that Gregory, wherever he ended up, would be all right.

She turned away a few minutes later, realizing that her dress was torn and she smelled like she'd been at a zoo. She went and told Colin his room was safe and that he should continue to do what homework he could.

"Where did Gregory go?" Colin asked.

"He's just out running around," Selina said, giving him a hug. "He'll come back eventually, I promise." She then made her way back to the dining room. "My god," Elijah said, getting to his feet when she entered. "What in the hell happened to you?"

"I got in a fight with our dog," Selina said. "I let him out the window so he could run around outside. He should come back later, though. No worries."

"What was all that noise?" Laura asked.

"I'll explain after we have our dinner," Selina told her. "Let's just talk about light, pleasant things now."

Over all, things went well, although Selina and Laura could both tell that Elijah didn't take to Ryan.

"I behaved remarkably well," Elijah praised himself when Ryan was gone. "I think I deserve a reward." He gave Selina a hot look. "I need a reward and _you_ look like you could use a bath, so that will work out well for both of us."

"Just a minute!" Laura said. "What happened earlier? We don't have a dog, so how did you get so messed up, Mom?"

"It was Gregory," Selina said. "He's activated his werewolf gene apparently, and tonight was the first time he turned. We tussled a little bit in Colin's room and then I let him out the window. He's running around now. I'm sure he'll be back tomorrow."

Elijah sighed. "Well, all right then. We might as well retire for the evening. There's nothing more that can be done for Gregory now."

Selina nodded. "Let me check on Colin one last time and then I'll meet you in our room, Elijah."

Elijah nodded and Selina went to knock on Colin's door. "Can I come in?" She called.

"Okay!" Colin called back. Selina went in and had a look at him. He was still white as a ghost, but other than that, he seemed okay. "How are you doing?" She asked. "Are you going to be all right?"

"What happened to Gregory?" Colin asked.

Selina sighed. "You have werewolf blood in you," she explained to him. "You, Gregory, Laura, the triplets, all of you. You got it from me. If you kill someone, that will activate your werewolf blood and the first full moon after you do your killing, you'll become a wolf, just like Gregory did. I know I probably should have told you about it earlier, but I just...I always forget."

"So I won't _necessarily_ turn into a wolf," Colin said.

"No," Selina shook her head. "Not unless you plan on actually killing anyone, and you know that with blood bags and the fact that you don't have to kill to feed, killing isn't necessary."

Colin nodded. "I know this is gonna sound kind of silly," he told Selina. "But could you plug my old nightlight in again? Just for this evening?"

"Sure," Selina nodded. "I wouldn't mind doing that at all."

After she plugged in Colin's night light, she finally went to join Elijah in the bathtub.

"It took you so long I thought you weren't coming," Elijah said, raising a soapy arm to greet her. Selina undressed while he watched and climbed in the tub beside him. "I had to make sure Colin was all right," she said, putting her arms around him. "It can't be pleasant watching your brother turn into a monster before your eyes."

"You get used to it," Elijah told her. "But yes, I suppose the first time _would_ be jarring, especially for a boy Colin's age. But you say he's all right now?"

"Yeah," Selina nodded. "He is."

"Good," Elijah replied, giving Selina a kiss. "That means we can just focus on each other."

They washed each other off and engaged in a brief splash fight before getting out and drying each other throughly. Then they ran to the bed and spent the rest of the night in each other's arms.

* * *

The next morning found Gregory lying face down in a field. He groaned and sat up, trying to piece together the events of the previous evening.

"You know," said a voice, "You're _very_ well-built. I can appreciate that. And didn't I_ tell _you you were gonna have some trouble last night?"

Gregory turned and frowned. Katherine was staring at him intently and why not? He was completely naked.

"Get me something to cover myself up with!" He barked. "I can't just be out here like this!"

"Why not?" Katherine asked. "You're nicely put together. I could make a calendar of you and it would sell very well." She grinned.

"Go ahead and laugh!" He said, eyes narrowed. "I bet you're enjoying yourself."

"As I said, I _did_ warn you that this would happen," Katherine reminded him. "But you didn't listen to me."

"Yeah, whatever!" Gregory replied. "You've had your time to gloat, now do something useful, damn you!"

"Fine," Katherine replied, throwing some clothes at him. "They should be your size. Now put them on and run home to Mommy. I bet she's just _dying_ to know that her baby Gregory is all right. I would stay and help you, but...I have a date. With a_ very_ handsome man who is _much_ better looking than and more well-endowed than you. Good day!" And she left him alone in the field, trying to figure out how he was gonna get home, and how he was gonna explain what had happened last night to his parents.


	45. Hard To Say I Love You

"So what's wrong?" Henry asked James. "Why are you acting so funny?" The little boy was concerned because he was beating his father at sword fighting and that never happened.

"I'm not acting funny!" James replied. "I'm fine!" He thrusted his sword in Henry's direction, but it missed Henry completely so that he was unable meet it with his own small sword. "Let's stop," he said. "I'm tired. Maybe you should go do things with Mommy."

"No," James shook his head. "I can't."

"Why not?" Henry asked. "Are you fighting?"

"No, we're not fighting," James told him. "She told me she loved me and now I'm scared she's waiting for me to say it back."

"Why can't you?" Henry asked. "You say it to me all the time!"

"Saying it to you is different from saying it to your mother. If I said it to your mother, it would mean something deeper that I just...why are you so interested?"

Henry shrugged. "I just am." He paused. "I'll be back in a minute," he said and ran into the castle. James followed him and waited until Henry appeared, dressed in a sheet that resembled a dress. "Pretend I'm Mommy," he said. "You can practice saying you love me, only I'm not me, I'm_ her_."

James looked at Henry wrapped in the sheet and tried his hardest not to laugh. He knew he was just trying to help and didn't want to upset him.

"Well?" Henry asked.

"I-I lo-I-lo-I-" Finally, James could restrain himself no longer. He fell to the ground laughing.

"What's funny?" Henry asked.

James sat up and took Henry in his lap. "Bless you, boy," he said. "I thank you for trying to help me, but try as you might, you're not the same as your mother."

"Oh," Henry nodded. Then he brightened again. "What if I turned_ into_ Mommy?"

"No!" James said quickly, his eyes widening. "There's no need for that. I can figure out how to fix this problem on my own."

"Are you sure?" Henry asked, pushing the sheet off of himself so that it lay in a pile around him.

"Yes," James told him. "I'm sure."

Just then, Lenora came out. "Henry, I'm gonna go visit my grandma. You wanna come?"

"Okay!" Henry said.

"Go inside," she instructed him. "I'll be there in a minute."

Henry ran off and Lenora said to James, "Are you gonna be okay here by yourself?"

"Actually," James told her, standing up. "I was thinking of giving Damon a visit, so don't you worry about me. I'll be fine."

"All right," Lenora nodded. "Good. I just wanted to be sure." She then headed inside to meet Henry and off they went to Selina's.

* * *

"Are we going back to Grandma's bakery?" Henry asked Lenora eagerly as he followed her to the portal closet.

"We're going to see my grandma, but we're not going to her bakery," Lenora told him. "There are some kids at her house that are your age and I think it would be nice if you tried to be friends with them. Not that you_ have _to be friends with them, of course, but who knows? You might end up liking them."

"Will they be boys or girls?" Henry asked. "I don't want to talk to girls."

"There are some girls there," Lenora told him. "And don't go dismissing the idea of being friends with them before you even meet them. Who knows? You might even like the girls better."

They went into the closet and a few seconds later, they were in front of Elijah and Selina's front door. They knocked and Selina let them in. "Hi, Lenora," she said, giving her a hug. Then she grinned at Henry. "Hello, Captain."

"Hi," Henry said to her. "Where are all the kids? Mommy said there would be kids here!"

"They're in the living room watching a movie," Selina told him. "You can join them if you want."

Henry joined Annaliese and Tristan and watched the movie with them for a minute or two, but then he got bored and began wandering aimlessly around the house. He eventually found a half-open door and knocked on it.

"Come in," said a voice from the other side. He cautiously opened the door and came in the room. There was a little girl sitting in a small rocking chair and looking at a book. She looked up when he entered. "Hi," she said. "Who are you?"

"I'm Henry," he told her. "What's _your_ name?"

"Margaret," Margaret replied. "Do you like books, Henry? I like books."

"Not really," Henry replied. "But I can do magic. Wanna see?"

Margaret put her book down. "Sure," she said. "Show me."

Just like he'd done for his mother before, Henry waved one hand and a small flower appeared in his other hand. "Here," he said, giving it to her. "You can have this."

"Thank you," Margaret said to him, giving him one of her rare smiles. "It's_ pretty_." She held onto the flower and sat back down in her rocking chair. "Why don't you like books?" She asked.

Henry shrugged. "I don't know," he said. "I just don't."

"My mommy reads to me all the time," Margaret said. "Does your mommy read to you?"

"No," Henry shook his head and sat down on the floor next to her chair. "Because I'm a pirate and Mommy knows that pirates don't need books."

"That's sad," Margaret said. "Books are so nice." She picked the one she had been reading off the floor and showed it to him. "The boy in the story can do magic too," she said. "See?"

Henry looked at the picture of the boy, who wore a pointed hat and robes and held a wand and scoffed. "Why is he dressed so funny? We don't dress like that!"

"You don't?" Margaret asked.

Henry held his arms out. "No, see? I'm wearing _pants_!"

"Who told you pirates don't need books?" Margaret asked.

"My daddy," Henry told her. "He says he never read. He just ran away on a pirate ship one day and never came back. And he knows how to do a lot of cool stuff. He says he's gonna show me some day." He expected her to go on about books some more, but instead, she put the book back on the shelf.

"Is your daddy really a pirate?" She asked.

"That's what _he_ says," Henry told her as she locked her eyes on him. "He even had a lot of shiny treasure but a bunch of bad men came, beat him up, and took it away!"

Margaret's eyes widened. "Was he okay? Did he _die_?"

"No," Henry shook his head. "He was okay after a bit. And another time, your mommy got mad at my daddy because she had his treasure and when he tried to get it from her, she turned into a wolf and almost bit off his _hand_!"

Margaret had been eager to listen before, but this last bit of information about her mother was just too much. She stood up, marched out of the room, and into the kitchen where Lenora and Selina were talking. Sensing he might have said something wrong, Henry followed after her. "Did I say something bad?" He called after her. "I'm sorry if I did." But Margaret ignored him.

When the two of them reached the kitchen, Lenora and Selina automatically stopped talking to stare at them.

"Well, look who found each other," Selina said, trying to smile. "Was the movie not exciting enough, Henry?"

"No," Henry shook his head. "Not really."

"Mommy," Margaret asked, her voice severe. "Did you hurt Henry's daddy?"

Lenora and Selina looked at one another and before Selina could open her mouth to answer, Lenora said, "She did, but it wasn't her fault. Henry's father was causing trouble and she was just defending herself. She wasn't doing anything wrong. He got himself home afterward, I fixed him up, and now he's as good as new. It's like it never happened."

"Yeah," Selina agreed. "What she said."

"Does daddy know you're hurting people?" Margaret asked her. "He doesn't like it when you hurt people."

"I _know_ he doesn't like it when I hurt people, Margaret," Selina told her. "But I had his permission in that case because our house was being robbed and that is a crime. Even your father doesn't like having stuff stolen from him."

"And it's funny because after he tried to take the treasure from you, the stuff you gave him was taken by the other members of his crew," Lenora told Selina. "They beat him up pretty bad for it, too."

"Should I be worried?" Selina asked. "Do you think they'll come after me for the rest of it?"

"I wouldn't worry," Lenora assured her. "I think vengeance against James was all they wanted and they got it."

"It's good that he's okay," Selina said. "I may have gone overboard when I attacked him."

"No," Lenora said firmly. "Killing him would have been going overboard. Almos biting off his hand, which is actually easy to fix, is not going overboard at all."

"Good," Selina nodded. "Good."

They stood in silence a moment and then Margaret turned on her heel. "I'm gonna go back to my room now," she said. Then she looked at Henry. "Wanna come?"

Henry shrugged. "Okay," he said and followed her to her room.

"Wow," Lenora remarked, watching them go. "That's a connection I didn't expect would be made. I thought he'd be more likely to hang out with Tris. He mentioned in the car on the way over here that he didn't want to spend his time talking to girls."

"Oh, they always say that," Selina replied. "Then someone invariably comes along and proves them wrong."

"You know," Lenora said, "I think she's gonna be a good influence on him."

"And he'll be good for Margaret," Selina agreed. "She needs someone to bring her out of her shell. Her sister and I can only do so much before outside help is necessary, and I think it has arrived in the form of your son."

They clinked their glasses. "How lucky," Selina said. "How incredibly lucky."

* * *

"She told you she loved you?" Damon asked James. "Why is that a problem? I would have thought you'd consider that a good thing!"

James took a big drink from his glass of rum and shook his head. "No, not to me," he said. "That just makes everything worse to me."

"Why?" Damon asked.

"Cause if they say they love you, there's always the chance that they can take it back," James answered. "It's happened to me before. Not that I actually cared about the woman the way I care about Lenora, but it still hurt. And if it hurt with a woman I didn't care about, imagine how bad it would be if Lenora, who I _do_ care about, took it back?"

"I understand what you mean," Damon told him. "First, I had a thing going with Selina. We were engaged as humans, I went off to war, and we didn't see each other again for _years_. Then we had this weird on again, off again thing going on until we finally got together for good for awhile, then she left me for Lenora's grandfather, and she left _him_ for the guy she's married to now. Not the most reliable girl in the world."

"Why'd you like her, then?" James asked.

"It was her eyes," Damon told him. "Those big, blue innocent eyes of hers that say, 'I'm so hurt. Love me'. Then something goes wrong and she just...runs the other way. So annoying."

"Lenora's not like that," James told him. She's very much attached to me. I don't know for what reason, but evidently there _is_ one."

"But what about your job?" Damon asked. "Won't the fact that you like Lenora ruin your job?"

"I thought about that," James admitted. "But then I looked at it this way: If I love Lenora, I can still be angry at all the idiots that I torture for having a chance like I have with Lenora and then throwing it away. And if not for themselves, then for someone else. If that doesn't deserve punishment, I don't know what does." He sighed. "I've been avoiding her ever since she said what she said. Henry offered to help me practice saying it, but it just wasn't the same."

"Are you gonna run away?" Damon asked.

"No!" James shook his head. "Of course not! I didn't lure her to my castle under false pretenses just so I could run away and she could be with someone else when something goes wrong! And Lenora, she's something else. To release her into a world of poor, innocent, unsuspecting bachelors would be cruel."

Damon smirked. "I know what you're saying. Lucy isn't a problem, of course, but my brother has this relationship with Lenora's sister Felicity that is...well, frankly, I don't know_ what_ it is. But it could become something. I hope it does."

"Lenora's got a sister?" James asked. "If she's mentioned that to me, I've forgotten it. She never talks about any sister."

"Well, I wouldn't blame you for not knowing," Damon told him. "The whole thing is just fucked up like you wouldn't believe. Lenora barely even mentions her parents, Felicity can't have contact with either her parents or her sister because their parents are insane and Felicity is being raised by her grandfather, whom she believes is her father because he doesn't think she's old enough to handle being told that her real parents are homicidal lunatics and that her father abandoned her on his doorstep."

"Damn," James replied, amazed. "What sort of family have I gotten myself involved with?"

"I think you'll find that it was the right sort of family," Damon told him. "They may be fucked up, but at least they're not boring."

James laughed. "Give me some more," he said, holding out his rum glass. Damon poured him some more, and he grinned. "You were saying that we got ourselves into a family that's not boring? Good. I don't think I could tolerate anything else."

"I'll drink that," Damon replied. They clinked their glasses and took drinks until both glasses were empty. They slammed them down on the counter and wiped their lips. "I should probably talk to Lenora tonight," he said. "She's been too quiet ever since she said what she said. And I wanna find out why."

"Good luck," Damon told him. "In case you need it, that is. You might not. You and Lenora are pretty stable. And I think you're good for her. I don't care what Lucy says."

"Well, thanks," James said to him. "You're a real sport, you know that?"

"Yeah," Damon grinned. "I do know that. Good luck."

* * *

"I think we need to talk," Lenora said to James that night after Henry had gone to bed. "Ever since I said what I said, we've been avoiding each other. Should I not have said it?"

"Well, do_ you _think you shouldn't have said it?" James asked her. "If you would have been completely certain about what you said, then you wouldn't have avoided me."

"It's not that I didn't _mean_ what I said," Lenora told him. "I do. But I don't know if saying the words out loud was actually necessary. We know between the two of us that we love each other without having to actually _say_ it out loud, right?"

"I should think so," James nodded.

"And after I spoke, I sort of realized that maybe I'd gone too far," she continued. "I know how you feel about saying 'I love you' and I felt bad about possibly putting pressure on you to say it back. I wasn't counting on it. I said what I said at the time that I said it because I was caught up in the moment. I didn't say it with the expectation that I wanted to hear it back from you."

James smiled. "You know, that's funny because I told Henry something similar, and he was so moved, he actually offered to help me rehearse saying it. He pretended to be you and he was wrapped in a sheet that looked like a dress. I tell you, it is_ very _hard to profess love to a five-year-old boy wrapped in a sheet, pretending to be a grown woman." He laughed and Lenora laughed too. "You know," she said, putting her arms around him. "I'm sorry I missed that."

James nodded. "It was a sight to behold." He paused. "I _do _feel the same way about you that you do about me," he said. "Even if I can't articulate it well. I can do things that I hope are evidence enough for you."

Lenora grinned. "What sort of things? Could you give me an example?"

James took her in his arms and kissed her deep and long. When he pulled away, he said, "How was that?"

"Good," Lenora nodded, trying to get her breath. "_Definitely_ good enough." Then they looked at each other, smiled, and he took her to bed, where they both undressed and made love until they didn't have any energy to move and collapsed on top of one another in a heap until the sun came up.


	46. Fight and Flight

"So are you gonna teach me to sword fight or not?" Lenora asked James.

"Well, do you _want_ me to teach you how to sword fight?" James asked her.

"Well, obviously!" She replied. "Since I'm asking and all."

"All right," James replied, giving her a smirk. "I'll show you."

"Good," Lenora replied. She followed him out to the yard where he and Henry usually practiced. He grabbed his usual sword for himself and Henry's little wooden one for Lenora.

"No," she said when she saw it. "How am I supposed to be able to fight you with that dinky little thing? Give me a real one!"

"No," James shook his head. "You can't just be given a sword before you know how to use it. You have to be taught first."

Lenora scoffed. "Taught, schmaught. Just give me the damn sword!"

James rolled his eyes and got Lenora a real one. She had trouble holding onto it for a second, but then she got her bearings and kept herself upright. "All right," she said. "I'm ready. And don't you go easy on me on purpose, either."

"You know," James told her, "You're just crazy enough to_ be _a proper pirate, running into a fight when you have no idea what you're doing."

"How hard can it be?" Lenora asked. "Honestly?"

Without giving her any warning, James hit her sword out of her hand and knocked her onto the ground. "Cheater," she said to him as she looked up at his smirking face.

"Pirate," he replied, grinning wider. "I never said I was gonna play by the rules."

"In that case..." Lenora began. She hissed, showing her fangs. James was caught off guard long enough that he dropped his sword and a few minutes later, he was face down in the dirt with Lenora sitting on top of him to hold him down. "You may be a pirate," she said. "But don't forget, _I'm_ a vampire."

James nodded. "Point taken." She let him up and they spent the rest of the time engaging in a more even fight until they both couldn't move any more. Then, they went inside and saw Max, who had something to tell Lenora.

"Damon called," he said. "He had something to tell you."

"Well, what is it?" Lenora asked. "What did he say?"

"He mentioned that Felicity misses you," he replied. "She wants to see you."

"Wait," James said. "Felicity is your sister...right?"

"Yeah," Lenora nodded. "She's my sister." She turned her attention back to Max. "When did he call to say this?"

"Just a few seconds ago," Max replied. "He hung up right when you came inside. However, he _did_ leave you the number for your grandfather's house, so you can call and make arrangements to see Felicity."

"All right," Lenora nodded. "We'll do that." She looked at James. "I assume you want to come too and meet my sister?"

"Why not?" James asked. "I'll have to meet her sometime. Just how old would she be now, anyway?"

"Somewhere around twelve, I think," Lenora replied. "But don't take my word for it. I'm not positive. Oh, and one more thing. This is very important. Don't mention _anything_ about Felicity being my sister. She doesn't know and it's too soon to mention it to her. Do you think you can remember that?"

"Of course," James replied, feeling confused. "You can trust me."

* * *

A few hours later found Lenora and James sitting at an outdoor table of an ice cream parlor by Klaus' house. "So why is it exactly that I can't address Felicity as your sister?" James asked. "Damon explained it to me, but I didn't quite understand it."

"Well," Lenora sighed. "To keep it simple, my parents are psychos. Well, my dad is by now, anyway. I don't know about my mom. But about six months after she was born, Dad dropped Felicity off at Grandpa's house and told him to raise her because he felt that would be the only way she'd ever learn about being a vampire. All her life, my sister hasn't known who her real parents are, or that she's even my sister, and we're maintaining that fiction for a few more years at least until she's old enough to hear the truth without being scarred for life by it."

"Is that all?" James asked.

Just then, Felicity and Stefan approached their table.

"Hi, Lenora!" Felicity said brightly, clutching an envelope in her hands.

"What do you have there?" Lenora asked.

"Just a letter from Helene," Felicity replied. "I thought I would show it to you." She looked at James. "Who's he?"

"This is James," Lenora told her. "I like him very much."

James tried to look as friendly as possible. "Well, hello," he said. "Aren't you pretty?"

Felicity smiled while Stefan tensed beside her at the comment. "Thank you for noticing," she said, blushing. "I get that a lot."

"Are you all right, mate?" James asked Stefan.

"Yes," he said tightly, his lips up in a fake smile. "I'm just fine."

"Stefan gets cranky when other guys say nice things to me, don't you?" Felicity asked and punched Stefan on the arm.

"Eh heh heh." Stefan gave her a sarcastic chuckle and sat down next to Felicity. He kept his eye on James, not even blinking.

Lenora watched them for a second and then turned back to Felicity. "So," she said. "Can I see the envelope?"

"Oh, yeah, here." They went to a nearby table, away from Stefan and James who were about to be engaged in some sort of arm wrestling match, so they could have some privacy. Felicity gave Lenora the envelope and Lenora carefully took out the note and read it over. She was glad that their mother was maintaining some communication with Felicity, even if their father wasn't. Or maybe he was and _this_ letter was just from her mother alone. Lenora had to ask.

"Have any of the letters Helene sent you had the name 'Adrian' on them along with hers?"

"No," Felicity shook her head. "They've all just been from Helene. Why?"

"No reason," Lenora said quickly. "I remember he helped you with your magic show at your birthday party years ago and I just wondered if that meant he'd write you letters too, but apparently I'm wrong. I shouldn't be surprised, though." She growled a little.

"Are you okay?" Felicity asked.

"Yeah," Lenora nodded. "I'm fine. Thanks for asking." They heard a grunt and turned just in time to see James get Stefan's arm down. "Well," Lenora grinned. "Look who won! I'm proud!"

"How strange," Felicity said. "Human guys can't beat Stefan."

"James isn't human," Lenora told her. "He's magical."

"Oh," Felicity nodded. "That explains it."

They watched them for a few more minutes and when Stefan looked ready to start an all-out brawl, Lenora and Felicity left their table and went back to the other one. "Okay, okay!" Lenora broke in. "Enough already! What is _wrong_ with the two of you?"

"I don't like the way he was talking about Felicity!" Stefan replied.

"All he did was say I was pretty!" Felicity told him. "I wasn't bothered by it and I have no idea why you would be either, so how about we just calm down and have ice cream, okay?"

"No," Stefan shook his head. "We won't." He gave her a cold look. "Have you done what you came here to do?"

"Well, yeah," Felicity nodded. "I suppose I did. But I don't want to go with you. I want to stay here with Lenora and James."

"Well, that is just not going to happen," Stefan said. "You know how your father would feel if I left you alone with a strange guy."

"She's not alone," Lenora replied. "_I'm_ here. You go and let Felicity stay since it seems like she wants to."

"Yeah!" Felicity nodded. "Let me stay!"

With a determined look, Stefan approached Felicity and tried to grab her arm and pull her away, but all of a sudden, he grabbed his head, groaned, and fell to the ground.

"Oh, my god!" Felicity yelled, looking at Lenora. "What did you _do_ to him?"

"I-I was just trying to help," Lenora said. "I only did that so he'd leave you alone."

"You hurt him!" Felicity replied. "Why would you _do_ that?"

"Well, maybe I didn't like the fact that he wouldn't leave you alone when you said you wanted to stay," Lenora told her.

"That's just how he is!" Felicity replied. "I'm used to it. I could have handled him on my own."

She got down on her knees next to Stefan's prone body. "Are you all right?" She asked as he groaned and tried to sit up.

"Yeah," he said, his voice full of quiet fury. "I'm fine. Can we go now?"

Felicity gave Lenora a long look. Part of her wanted to stay, but the other part worried about what else would happen to Stefan if they did. Finally, she said, "Yeah, sure. We can go."

They left and then Lenora said, "Well, that didn't go how I wanted it to."

"Are you all right?" James asked her.

"Yeah," Lenora nodded, placing James' hand around her waist. "Get me a stiff drink and I will be."

* * *

"You wanted to see me?" Gregory asked Selina that night.

"Yeah," she nodded. "I just wondered if you wanted to talk about what happened the night you turned."

"Why would I need to talk about it?" Gregory asked. "Am I in trouble?"

"Not from me you aren't," Selina shook her head. "But most people, after they activate their genes, they feel they need to talk about, you know, why it happened and what that means for the rest of their lives. If you have questions about that, I'll answer them for you."

"You seem awfully calm about this," Gregory told Selina. "Is this some sort of trick? Are you gonna wait for me to tell you a whole bunch of stuff and then tell Dad or something? Then he'll be_ real _disappointed in me."

"This isn't a trick, Gregory," Selina assured him. "You have werewolf blood in you and I knew there was a chance this could happen. It's a fact of life and I'm not gonna berate you for it."

"Even though I had to kill someone for it to happen?" Gregory asked. He had been skeptical at first, but he was beginning to believe that she wouldn't judge him.

Selina nodded. "Even if you had to kill someone for it to happen. I won't even ask who it was. Just...whatever you want to ask, go ahead."

"Katherine told me that it would happen," he said quietly. "She came to school that day while I was waiting for Colin and Laura and told me that I was gonna change. I thought she was making it up."

"That's logical," Selina told him. "She's not the most truthful person in the world, and given the fact that I'd told you absolutely nothing about your werewolf heritage, you had no way to know that she was in fact being honest."

"So...what happened the night I turned is going to happen all the time now?" He asked.

"Well, not all the time," Selina shook her head. "Just on the full moon. Oh, and you're deadly to human people in your wolf state, obviously, but also any vampires you come across. You bite them and they die a slow, miserable death that only your Uncle Klaus and your cousins can save them from."

"_Any_ vampire?" Gregory asked, thinking of Katherine. He tucked this bit of information in the back of his mind in case he needed it for a rainy day.

"Yes," Selina nodded. "_Any_ vampire. Well, actually, if they are a vampire that has an inactive werewolf gene, the bite won't kill them, it will just turn them human. But that's the only exception and usually, they die if they're bitten." She paused. "Any other questions?"

"No," Gregory shook his head. "Thanks for your help. I think I'm gonna go to bed."

Selina grinned. "'Night, honey. Any time."

Shortly after he left, Elijah came into the room. "I saw Gregory coming from this way," he said. "Did you two talk?"

"Yeah," Selina nodded. "We talked and then he went to bed."

He watched her undress and then she came to put her arms around him. "So," she said slyly. "What do you want to do tonight?"

"You," he replied. "But first, I have a question."

"What?" Selina asked as she kissed his neck.

"The night Laura's friend came over, when we were having dinner, what was all the banging and noise coming from upstairs?" He asked. "And why did you smell like a zoo afterward?"

Selina stopped kissing his neck and looked him in the eye. "That's something that is strictly between Gregory and myself," she said. "I've handled it and you don't need to be involved."

"That concerns me," Elijah replied. "What happened? Was Gregory hurt in some way?"

"I promised him I wouldn't say anything!" Selina repeated. "And I told you I've already taken care of it, so why can't you just let it go? There's nothing you'd be able to do anyway. The damage has already been done."

"You should at least respect me enough to tell me what happened," Elijah replied. "I'm your husband."

"And Gregory is my son," Selina replied. "I promised him I wouldn't say anything to you and I won't. I'd rather have sex, which I promise you will _not_ happen if I tell you what happened to Gregory."

Groaning in frustration, Elijah got up, put his shirt on again, and left the room. He went to Colin's door and knocked on it. "Son?" He called. "I know it's late, but can we talk?"

"Will it matter that it's past my bedtime?" Colin called back.

"No," Elijah called back.

"All right," Colin said. "Come in!"

Elijah came in and sat next to Colin on his bed. "Son, I need you to tell me something and be completely honest. The night Laura's friend came to visit and Gregory was helping you with your homework, what happened in here? Were you hurt?"

"No," Colin shook his head. "But Gregory turned into a giant wolf and it scared the heck out of me!"

Elijah's eyes widened. "Gregory turned into a wolf?"

"Yeah," Colin nodded. "He did! I saw it with my own eyes! Mom came upstairs and I thought he was gonna kill her, but just as calm as could be she ushered him out the window and then went downstairs to see you. Gregory came back in the morning and he was a person again."

"Well, thank you," Elijah told him. "You've been very helpful. Get a good night's rest now."

"All right," Colin said. "I will. Good night, Daddy."

Elijah left and once he shut Colin's door, he did his best to keep hold of his temper. He walked back to his bedroom and said to Selina, "So you weren't ever going to tell me that Gregory activated his werewolf gene?"

"No," Selina shook her head. "I wasn't. You know why? Cause I knew it would upset you and you would be judgmental and make Gregory feel bad just like your father did with Klaus!"

"My father had every _right_ to be upset about Niklaus!" Elijah replied. "When he turned into a werewolf, it was evidence to my father that my mother had been unfaithful! That he had been cuckolded!"

"Maybe," Selina replied. "But _you_ don't have the luxury of a similar excuse. Anyone who looks at him and then you would know that Gregory is _your _son. And the reason why he's a werewolf now is because of me. _I _was the one who gave him the gene. Not because of an affair or anything like that."

"It's very motherly of you to protect him," Elijah told her. "But the reason why Gregory is a werewolf now is because of something _he_ did. You may have given him the gene, but it was _his _ decision to kill someone in order to activate it. And you know how I feel about killing innocent people. And Gregory does too. There is nothing either of you can say that will excuse his behavior."

"Maybe he doesn't need an excuse," Selina told him. "Maybe all he needs is a little understanding, which_ you _don't seem willing to give him."

"Well, thank you for ruining what could have been a very nice night for us," Elijah told her.

"Oh, don't give me _all _ the credit," Selina told him. "Save some for yourself. You deserve it."


	47. We're Not Gonna Take It

Selina and Elijah didn't talk for a few days after he found out that she'd kept Gregory's transformation from him. Finally though, Selina decided to apologize. She went to his office and knocked on the door. When he opened it and saw her, his expression was neutral. "Yes?" He asked. "May I help you?"

"Can I come in?" She asked. "I want to talk."

"I don't think I need to ask about what," Elijah told her. "And I'm in no mood to hear more about how misunderstood Gregory is." He was about to shut the door in her face, but she put her foot in the way and blocked it. "Just because I'm curious," she asked, easing her way into the room, "What is it about werewolf killing that's got you so worked up? I know that part of why you're against killing as a vampire is because of what happened with your wife and kids when you turned, but werewolves are an entirely different thing. You have nothing to do with them."

"Actually," Elijah told her. "I do. Have a seat and let me explain."

Selina sat and waited. "Well?"

Elijah cleared his throat. "When my family and I were still human, we shared a living space with a pack of werewolves. Mostly, we maintained peace. But just prior to our becoming vampires, Niklaus took our youngest brother out during one full moon to watch the werewolves transform. He thought it would be a bit of fun, but when he returned, he was carrying our brother's limp, blood-covered body. He had been killed by one of the wolves. It was one of the worst things I've ever felt, and I will be damned if I allow other families to feel that way because Gregory killed someone in his wolf form."

Selina gasped. "Oh, my god." She said quietly. "I'm so sorry. I had no idea."

"I know you didn't," Elijah told her. "I'm sure that if you had, you wouldn't have allowed Gregory to do something so foolish. How could you have done that? What were you_ thinking_?"

Selina shook her head. "I guess I wasn't," she replied. "At least not the way I should have been. The me that allowed Gregory out the window was the same me that used to scoff at my mother's fear of her werewolf heritage. The one who vowed that she would never be oppressed by someone again the way that Mama had oppressed me. When Gregory turned, my first thought wasn't 'Oh, my god! I have to stop Gregory from killing innocent people!' It was, 'Oh, my god! I have to let Gregory out before Elijah comes and tries to restrain him, repress him, and make him feel like a big giant loser'. I know it wasn't smart, and I'll _never_ do it again because I'll be thinking like a parent rather than an oppressed child, but sometimes, old habits are hard to break. I'm sorry for the mess I made of everything."

Elijah nodded. "Thank you," he told her. "But there's no point in dwelling on it now. All we can do is move forward and deal with it the best we can." He stood up. "I'm going to go tell Gregory how his transformations will be handled from now on."

"And how will that be?" Selina asked.

"Simple," Elijah replied. "He will be sedated and restrained in the basement under my watch until he resumes his human form. I think that would be the best way to handle it. Don't you?"

"Yeah," Selina nodded. "I guess it's the _only_ way."

Elijah nodded and strode off to Gregory's room. He knocked and Gregory let him in. He had a smirk on his face, and when he sat down in his desk chair, he had look of languid ease about him. "Come to read me the riot act?" He asked. "Go ahead. I know you're mad with Mom for letting me go the night I turned."

"I can't say I was pleased by her actions," Elijah admitted as he sat down on the bed. "But I didn't come here to yell at you. I just came so I could lay out how your transformations are going to go in the future."

"Oh, yeah?" Gregory asked, one eyebrow up. "And how will that be?"

"You will be sedated with wolfsbane and restrained in the basement until you resume your human form," Elijah told him firmly. "As a precaution, I will be watching you also, to make sure you don't get lose."

"You _do_ realize I can just bite you and get away," Gregory told him. "Mom said that if I bite vampires while I'm a wolf, it messes them up pretty bad."

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, son," Elijah told him dryly. "But as an Original, werewolf bites don't affect me the way they do your garden-variety vampires. And if you think I can't restrain you, I can. I've controlled your mother on her worst rampages. You can't be much different."

Gregory scoffed and stood up from his chair. "I think Mother will have something to say about that," he said. "She won't let it happen. She let me out before and she'll let me out again." He strode to his bedroom door, opened it, and strode out. Elijah followed him, curious about how Selina would react to Gregory's plea. She'd seemed genuinely remorseful when they'd talked earlier, but he wasn't sure if that would stick when she was faced with Gregory for real and he was pleading oppression by his father.

"She's in my office if you're wondering where to stride off to in indignation," Elijah told him.

"Thank you," Gregory replied. They reached Elijah's office and went in. Selina was sitting in Elijah's desk chair, her eyes cast down. Gregory approached the desk and rapped on it briefly with his knuckles. This brought Selina to sit up. "Yes?" She asked him. "May I help you?"

"Father says that I'm to be restrained on all future full moons!" Gregory said, his voice full of indignation. "Tell him he's wrong!"

Elijah waited for Selina's response. She didn't say anything at first. She slowly rose from the chair, came around the desk, and took Gregory in her arms. "He's not wrong," she said. "I was. I shouldn't have let you out when I did. You were lucky no one saw you and tried to shoot you or worse."

"Excuse me?" Gregory asked. "You think humans could do something to me? Why would you think something so silly?"

"Because it's _not_ silly!" Selina told him. "I'm absolutely serious, Gregory. Sure, one human may not be much of a threat to you, but you get enough of them and even if they don't kill you, they could still hurt you badly. It happened to an uncle of mine. After he turned into a werewolf, he thought nothing of gallivanting around our small town and killing whatever he pleased. It wasn't a problem until one night Uncle Jake was foolish enough to kill the small son of family friends. That was when his father decided that the wolf needed to be taken care of once and for all. He gathered all the men, and with pitchforks, pistols and every other instrument that can be used t inflict pain or kill, they went in search of my uncle. When they found him, they stabbed him, burned him and shot him until he died. And since werewolves are hard to kill, his death was slow and painful. If you're ever in the same situation, you could end up with even _more_ pain and misery than my uncle experienced, and I don't want that for you. I want to keep you alive, Gregory. I don't care if you think it's stupid, I don't care if you think we're being overprotective, from now on, every full moon, you'll be in the basement with your father until it's all over. I don't want to hear any complaints. It's for your own good."

"You only said that because he told you to!" Gregory told her. "Did he say that he was gonna withhold sex if you didn't?" A few seconds later, Gregory was slapped so hard Selina thought that his head had been separated from his neck. He fell to the ground and lay there for a few seconds and then Elijah pulled him up by his collar so that they were almost nose to nose. "You don't speak to your mother that way," he said, his voice dangerously quiet. "If you want to stay in this house, you will respect her, and you will respect me. If you don't feel you can do that, you're free to live elsewhere. No one will stop you." He then dropped him on the floor in a heap.

Gregory then got up and faced both his parents. "If I'm not wanted, I'll leave," he said. "I was planning on doing it soon anyway!" He strode off, grabbed his coat, and left the house.

"Are you all right?" Elijah asked Selina.

"Yeah," Selina told him. "Thanks for sticking up for me."

"You're welcome," Elijah told her and kissed her. "I know how hard it can be to do the right thing sometimes. It usually doesn't make you popular. But you and I, I'd like to think of us as a team and if you're willing to risk unpopularity with our children by siding with me, the least I can do is defend you."

Selina hugged him and sighed as he ran his fingers through her hair. "Gregory's not the first kid I've had leave me, of course," she said. "Others have, usually earlier than Gregory. But do you think he'll be able to handle himself out there?"

"Yes," Elijah assured her. "I think he will. I think that worrying about him is not something we need to devote our energies to anymore, although I know you will because that's how you are."

"Yeah," Selina nodded. "That's how I am."

* * *

"Well, look who it is?" Katherine said, grinning as she opened the door and found Gregory standing on her doorstep. "What are you doing here? Does your mother know?"

"Yes, she knows," Gregory said testily. "But even if she didn't know, it wouldn't matter. I don't give a damn about what she thinks anymore, or my father, either. And because of that, Father ordered me from his house, so here I am."

He strode into the house without being invited in. "Nice place you have," he said. "It's acceptable. I think I'll like living here."

"But I never said you could," Katherine told him.

Gregory locked eyes with her. "But you meant to, right? You meant to invite me in and let me stay for as long as I want, right?"

"Yeah, sure," Katherine replied. "Stay as long as you want."

"Good girl," Gregory replied. "How kind you are." He walked upstairs and Katherine followed him as he went from room to room. Finally, he zeroed in on the biggest one. "I think I'll take this room," he said. "It's bigger than all the others."

"This is _my_ room!" Katherine told him. "You can't have it. Pick another one!"

Gregory scoffed. "You're joking, right? You actually expect me to stay in a room smaller than this?" He grinned and burst out laughing.

"This is my room and I was here first," Katherine told him. "I'm not leaving."

"Well," Gregory shrugged. "I _suppose_ we could share the room...and the bed." He looked down her body. "I think I'd enjoy that, actually."

Katherine scoffed. "You're _disgusting_."

He gently stroked her cheek. "You're beautiful," he said with a grin.

Katherine slapped his hand away. "Don't touch me!" She growled. She shoved him aside and went to the bedroom door. "Take this room," she said. "Move in, make yourself comfortable. _I'm _ going out."

"Bye!" Gregory called after her. "See you when you get back! I'll keep our bed warm for you!"

Katherine slammed the door to the house behind her and took a deep breath. What had happened to him? He used to be so nice. Annoying, but nice. And now...now he was just...she shuddered. She would _definitely_ delay coming back here as long as possible...or she wouldn't come home at all. An idea formed in her mind. There was someone she could see, someone who would would let her stay with him so that she wouldn't _have_ to come back here. Only thing was...she had no idea where he lived.

* * *

"Well, well, well," Damon said when he opened the door and found Katherine on the front step. "You're lucky I answered the door and not Lucy. She wouldn't want to see you."

"Who's Lucy?" Katherine asked. "The latest girl you and your brother are both pining after? Are the three of you in a happy household together now?"

"No," Damon shook his head. "My brother doesn't live with me. And although it took being screwed by both you _and_ Elena for us to realize it, Stefan and I are finally capable of loving different women. So, what is it that you came here hoping to tell my brother? I presume you meant to talk to him since you never actually wanted anything to do with me."

"Yeah," Katherine nodded. "I meant to talk to him. Where does he live?"

"Funny thing," Damon told her. "I _could_ tell you where he is, but I wouldn't be doing you a favor. You would be an idiot to go there."

"Why?" Katherine asked.

"He lives with Klaus now," Damon told her. "And yeah, I know he's not after your doppleganger ass anymore. Hell, he might even buy you a cake and a bottle of wine for running off on him and making someone else be the doppleganger. He met Selina that way and they were really chummy for awhile apparently. So maybe you _could _show your face at his house and he wouldn't kill you. Who knows? Wanna give it a shot?"

"Considering I don't have anything better to do, yeah, I think I will," Katherine told him.

"Good luck," Damon smirked. "And if he kills you, don't expect me to come to your funeral."

He slammed the door in her face and Katherine rolled her eyes and turned on her heel to go down the steps and the drive. Then, she began the long process of finding out where Stefan and Klaus' house was, knowing that when she got there, she would do whatever she had to so that they would keep her, at least for the night.

* * *

"Who are _you_?" Felicity asked when she opened the door and saw Katherine. "If you're selling something, we don't want any." She started to shut the door, but Katherine put her foot in it and stopped it. "I'm a friend of Stefan's," she said. "Does he live here? Can I come in and talk to him?"

Felicity opened the door again. "Why would you want to do that?" She asked. "And what makes you think he would want to talk to you?"

"Well, I don't know if he does," Katherine said through her teeth. "But could you at least _ask_? Say, 'Katherine wants to talk to you'."

Felicity rolled her eyes. "Fine," she said. "But you have to stay out there on the step. You can't come in." She shut the door on Katherine and went to see Stefan. "Some lady named Katherine wants to talk to you," she said. "She's outside now. Should I let her come in?"

"I can handle it," Stefan told her. "You don't have to." He got up to go answer the door again.

"Hello, Stefan," Katherine said with a grin when she saw him. "Fancy meeting you here."

"You're brave to show your face here," Stefan said. "Considering that Klaus has every reason to want to kill you."

Katherine scoffed. "How could he?" She asked. "My running off allowed him to meet Selina. He can't still be angry at me."

"Oh, I'm sure he could," Stefan replied. "What do you want?"

"Well, I was _hoping_ that you might take me in for the night," Katherine replied. "You and me together, just for old times' sake?"

Stefan felt torn. On the one hand, the thought of being with her disgusted him. On the other, she was the first woman his own age he'd been around since he and Anna had split up. And now she was having all the fun and he had nothing. Felicity had her good qualities, but satisfying him was not something she could do. Not yet, anyway. He had to take whatever chance presented itself. He'd be a fool if he didn't, even in spite of his misgivings.

"Sure," he said with a grin. "Come in."

"Thanks," Katherine replied. "You know, to tell you the truth, I'm more worried about the little blonde that answered the door than I am Klaus. Who _is_ she? She looked too young to be your girlfriend even though she was acting like it."

"That's just Felicity," Stefan told her. "She's a relative of Klaus' who's staying with him. She and I are close, and at times she can be a bit possessive."

"Well, I guess I'll just have to watch myself then," Katherine replied.

They spent the rest of the day together under Felicity's resentful eye, disappearing into his bedroom for long periods of time. When Stefan came out, he looked disheveled but happy.

"What have you been _doing_ in there?" Felicity asked. "Are you and she-?"

"Yes," Stefan nodded. "Yes, we are."

"But _why_?" Felicity whined. "Who is she to just come in here and act like she owns the place anyway?"

"Felicity, you're twelve," Stefan told her. "I need things in life that you're just not old enough to give me yet. She is. Case closed."

"Do you like her?" Felicity asked.

"Not really," Stefan shook his head. "But she doesn't really like me either, so whatever."

"Stefan!" Katherine called. "That's enough of a break!"

"Duty calls," Stefan said and left.

A few minutes later, Klaus came into the house and saw Felicity's long face. "What's the matter, pet?" He asked her.

"Stefan has a _girl_ here," She said. "And I don't like her one bit!"

"You knew that this was going to happen," Klaus told her. "That sometimes, Stefan will bring girls here and you'll have to deal with it. You can do that."

"He didn't _bring_ her," Felicity said. "She just showed up on the doorstep without being invited. She wanted to talk to him, he was stupid enough to let her in, and they've been having sex all day."

"She doesn't deserve to die for that," Klaus said. "If you're so hot to kill someone, I could take you out right now. It shouldn't be hard to find someone who won't be missed."

"But that's no good!" Felicity said, hands on her hips. "I can't just kill _anyone_! It has to be _her_! Or if I can't kill her, can you at least make her go away?"

Klaus rolled his eyes. Clearly this was not something she was gonna let go. He made his way to Stefan's bedroom and, despite the noises coming from inside indicating that Stefan was clearly busy, knocked on the door.

"What?" Stefan said grumpily when he opened it. "If you came here with some bullshit complaint from Felicity, don't waste your breath."

Klaus held up his hands. "I wasn't going to ask you to stop," he said. "I just wanted to give you a warning that Felicity _does_ seem upset by your lady friend's presence, and you know what happens when she gets upset."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Stefan waved him away. Klaus shrugged and shut the door.

"So?" Felicity asked when he came back. "Is she going?"

"No," Klaus shook his head. "But I _did_ mention how upset you were. Stefan just pushed that aside, so I guess now that the warning has been given and ignored, you're free to do whatever sort of retaliation you feel is necessary. Unless, of course, you want to give Stefan a break and let him be happy for a little while."

"No!" Felicity shook her head. "He didn't care about my feelings when he brought that _person_ here, and now I'm not gonna care about him!"

* * *

That night, when Felicity was sure that both Stefan and Katherine were asleep, she sneaked into their room with a pair of scissors and cut off all of Katherine's hair, then stabbed her in the back several times with the scissors. Katherine's shrieking roused Stefan, who turned on the light and saw that Katherine was covered in blood, as was Felicity. He grabbed hold of the younger girl's wrist and managed to wrest the scissors from her grip. "What the hell are you doing?" He asked.

"I couldn't sleep," Felicity replied. "I was bored. Besides, Daddy said he told you how mad I was and that you didn't listen. So it's not my fault."

"Yes, it is," Stefan said firmly. "I don't want you hurting anyone else you see me with, all right?"

"Why not?" Felicity asked. "You said you didn't care about her. Was that a lie?"

"No!" Stefan shook his head. "I just don't want you to! And if you care about me, that should be enough of a reason for you to listen, all right?"

"Fine," Felicity said resentfully.

"Good," Stefan told her. "Now apologize to Katherine."

Felicity rolled her eyes and looked in Katherine's direction. "I'm sorry I hurt you with the scissors," she said.

Katherine turned, her eyes flashing. "I don't give a damn about how many times you stabbed me with those damn scissors! If you're gonna apologize for something, apologize for what you did to my hair! Do you _know_ how long it's gonna take it to grow back?"


	48. A Big Question

Stefan glared at Felicity as Katherine continued to frown at the mirror and take hold of what little hair she had left. "I think you and I need to talk," he sad to the younger girl.

"Fine with me," Felicity shrugged. "Let's go."

Stefan left Katherine and followed Felicity to her room. When she was tucked under her covers again, he sat next to her and said, "You wanna explain what that was all about?"

"I don't like her," Felicity replied. "And I want her to go away. I told you that already."

"But what made you think it would be a good idea to come in to my room and stab Katherine?" Stefan asked.

"Daddy told me I could," Felicity replied. "He said that he told you I was upset and you ignored it, so I could do whatever I wanted to her and he wouldn't do anything about it."

"You're kidding," Stefan said.

"Nope!" Felicity shook her head. "I'm absolutely serious." Rolling his eyes, Stefan got up and left her room to go knock on Klaus' door. When he didn't answer it after a few minutes, Stefan let himself in and turned on the light.

"Damn you!" Klaus cried as he said up, attempting to shield his eyes from the light. "Stefan, do you have any idea what time it is?"

"Yes, I do," Stefan replied. "And I don't care. Would you please explain to me why you told Felicity it was all right to come into my room and hurt Katherine?"

Klaus just looked at him, stony-faced, and said, "Well, you _do_ remember that I wasted several centuries of my life looking for her," he said. "She deserves to suffer for wasting my time like that. Things would have been so much easier for me if she hadn't."

"How can you still be upset about that?" Stefan asked. "It was because Katherine cheated you that you met Selina. And that's a good thing!"

Klaus gave a humorless chuckle. "Selina did a lot for me," he said. "She did give me children, and I suppose you could say we had some good times, but now, I couldn't care less about her. About how she made me feel things I never wanted to feel in the first place and then, in a flash made them mean nothing when she chose my brother instead. But it's no matter. At least I have Felicity to keep me company. _She'll _never fail me the way Selina did."

"I don't see how you can be so sure of that," Stefan replied. "You don't know what's gonna happen in the future."

"I may not be able to predict everything," Klaus replied. "But I _can_ make sure Felicity stays loyal to me."

"Yeah, sure," Stefan replied. "Good luck with that." He left Klaus' room and went back to see Felicity.

"I'm not gonna apologize," Felicity told him. "I didn't even hurt her really. She'll get better."

"Fine, you don't have to apologize," Stefan told her. "Just don't do anything like that again, all right? i'm entitled to have my own life and you have to respect that."

"Oh, so you're allowed to get upset and throw a fit when Lenora's boyfriend innocently calls me 'pretty', but I'm not allowed to be upset when you're with someone else right in front of me?" Felicity asked. "That's not fair."

"Yes, well," Stefan said, "sometimes the world _isn't_ fair. It's called life."

"Are you gonna spend more time with her tomorrow, or can you and I do something?" Felicity asked.

"I don't know," Stefan replied. "I'll probably be busy, but we'll see."

He left her and went back to his room to be with Katherine, who spent the time she and Stefan were together picturing the look on Gregory's handsome face when he realized she wasn't coming home. He was probably really upset. She didn't care, though. In fact, it was something she couldn't have been more glad about.

* * *

"So what are you gonna do now that Gregory is gone?" Selina asked Elijah.

"I don't know," Elijah replied.

"Can I suggest that you attempt to bond with Colin?" Selina asked. "You don't know him as well as you know the others. He's neither your eldest son that you used to have things in common with or your eldest daughter whom you feel constantly needs looking after. But even so, he needs you too. And am I wrong when I say you've never really tried to bond with him?"

"It's not that I don't want to," Elijah told her. "Or that I love Colin less than the others...but he and I are so different that I just...I wouldn't know what to do with him."

"Well, do you know the sort of things he's interested in?" Selina asked. "Baseball, for instance. Ask him how that's going. I'm sure he'd be glad to tell you about it."

Elijah groaned. "But I find baseball dull," he said. "How am I supposed to show interest in something that I have no interest in at all?"

"Now how do you know you don't like baseball?" Selina asked. "Have you ever even seen a game?"

"Well, no," Elijah admitted. "But-"

"I think you should see one," Selina told him. "Colin's playing next week. I usually take him and watch on my own, but I'm sure he'll be thrilled to find out that you're coming."

"Wait just a minute now," Elijah told her. "I never said-'

"Colin!" Selina yelled. "Come into your father's office, please. We have something we want to tell you!"

Elijah gave her a look of panic.

"Don't worry," she said. "It'll be fine. I'll explain everything to you. And think about how happy it will make Colin to see that his father, who only ever really seemed to care about his older brother before, is taking an interest in him. It will make his day."

Colin poked his head in the office door. "What did you want to talk about?" He asked. "Am I in trouble?"

"No!" Selina shook her head. "You're not in trouble. Quite the opposite, in fact. Your father has some news he'd like to share with you."

"What is it?" Colin asked Elijah.

"Well," Elijah replied, trying to smile at Colin. "Your mother tells me you have a baseball game next week. Is that right?"

"Yeah," Colin nodded. "What about it?"

"Well, I was thinking about joining your mother then to see you play," Elijah told him. "Would you like that?"

Colin's face lit up. "Yeah!" He said. "I'd really like that. I'm so happy you're coming. I thought you only liked to do stuff with Gregory. I never thought you'd want to do anything with me!" He ran from the room, ecstatic.

"See how easy it is to brighten a kid's day?" Selina asked.

"Well, I'm glad he's happy of course," Elijah told her. "But I'm still very nervous about what you've gotten me into."

"Don't worry," Selina told him. "It'll be fun! Just follow my lead."

"Okay," Selina said to Elijah the morning of Colin's game. "What are you wearing?"

Elijah, in a suit, held out his arms. "This," he said. "It looks nice, doesn't it?"

"Well, yeah it does," Selina replied. "But you can't wear a suit to the ball park. You just can't. You'll be miserable if you do."

"Is that because of the warm temperatures?" Elijah asked. "Don't worry. This suit is plenty cool."

"I don't mean the temperatures," Selina replied. "At ball parks they have concessions. Even Colin's kiddie league sells hotdogs and drinks and stuff for people to consume while they watch the game and I would hate to see you get errant condiments on such a nice suit."

"Well, fine," Elijah said. "What do you suggest I wear?"

Selina grinned. "I'm so glad you asked." She went into his closet and grabbed a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. "Put these on," she said. "They'll be perfect."

"No!" Elijah cried. "I'm not wearing those out in public! I bought them for around the house and bedroom only!"

"Well, fine," Selina replied. "Wear your suit. But don't say I didn't warn you."

* * *

Way too late, Elijah realized that maybe he should have listened to her. Sitting next to Selina on an uncomfortable metal bench, amidst swearing parents who yelled too loudly and sweating in his suit, he struggled to find a comfortable position.

About halfway through the game, the people selling food appeared. Selina got the two of them hot dogs and drinks and Elijah struggled with how to eat his. "You know," he told her as he held on to it so that the mustard and ketchup wouldn't fall on his suit pants. "I've never had one of these things before."

"Get out," Selina replied sarcastically and grinning. When some of the mustard fell out of her hot dog and onto her shorts, she just wiped off what she could and let what was left of the stain remain without seeming too bothered by it.

"You have mustard on your shorts," Elijah told her.

"Yeah," Selina replied. "I know that. I'll wash 'em off when I get home." Just then, Colin hit a home run and Selina stood up and cheered enthusiastically along with the rest of the parents who were screaming at the top of their lungs, her hot dog held over her head. Elijah started to stand up, but then he felt wetness on the shoulder of his suit. He turned to see that the man behind him had knocked his soda over in his rush to stand up and cheer. Elijah considered hurting him, but just as he was about to, Selina saw.

"Sit down," she told him.

"But he stained my suit!" Elijah told her. "See? It's gonna have to be dry-cleaned now!"

"And I told you not to wear it because I knew something like this would happen. Now who's really at fault here?" Selina asked. "Just sit down and try not to think about it."

"Fine," Elijah replied. He sat down, but all he could think about was the soda stain on his shoulder and then later the mustard and ketchup stains on his legs.

When the game was over and Colin came to meet Selina and Elijah, he had a smile for his father. "Did you enjoy the game, Daddy?" He asked.

"Yes," Elijah replied. "But I admit that I still have a lot to learn about the rules. Would you teach me?"

"Sure," Colin nodded. "I'd be happy to." He ran to the car and Selina put a hand on Elijah's shoulder. "Good job," she said. "And I'm guessing you'll be wearing jean and a t-shirt when you come to his game next time?"

Elijah sighed. "Yes," he said. "Seeing this," he gestured at his stain covered clothes, "I think that might be best."

* * *

"Kind of nice to have time to ourselves, isn't it?" Lenora asked James. Henry had gone off to see Margaret, so his parents were home alone.

"Yes," James replied, running his hand up her bare arm. "It _is_ nice. Wanna spend some time in the ship?"

"In a minute," Lenora told him. "But first, I have to ask you something. It's all right if you say no, but I just want to put it out there. What would you say to having another kid at some point? It doesn't have to be now, of course, but I figure Henry's getting older and I wouldn't want a _whole_ bunch more kids. Just one more at the most. And you're _good_ with kids. So what do you say?" She waited eagerly for his response.

"You look like you have your heart set on me saying 'Yes'," James observed.

"I told you that you could say 'no' and it wouldn't bother me," Lenora replied. "_Is_ that your response?"

"I didn't say that," James replied. "Just give me time to think!"

"Okay," Lenora answered. "I'm sorry." They sat in silence for a few minutes and then James said, "May we get on the ship now?"

"All right," Lenora nodded. "Let's get on the ship."

James didn't say anything more about their having a second child for a few more days, but one night, just when Lenora was about to ask again because she was sure he'd forgotten, he took off his shirt and said, "I know you've been waiting for me to give you an answer about adding to our family. Thanks for being patient with me about this."

"You're welcome," Lenora replied. "Have you made a decision?"

"Yes," James nodded. "How long do you think we should wait before we tell Henry he's eventually gonna have another sibling?" He grinned as Lenora came to hug him. "Thank you!" She said, hugging him. "You won't regret this, I promise!" She began removing her clothes with alacrity.

"You're not wasting any time, are you?" James asked, amused.

"What good would that do us?" She asked. "I think we should get started as soon as possible. Who knows how long it will take us?"


	49. A New Position

"Well, look who finally decided to come home," Gregory grinned when he saw Katherine stomp into the living room. "What kept you away? Did you miss me horribly? Nice haircut, who did it for you? A five year old?"

Katherine ignored him and looked around the room. Every surface was covered with garbage or dishes that weren't done. "I see you've made yourself at home," she remarked, her nose wrinkling. "When were you planning on cleaning all of this up?"

"I wasn't actually going to," he remarked. "Now that you're here, _you_ can."

Katherine scoffed. "Of course I won't. It's _your_ mess, not mine. Don't you know how to clean up after yourself?"

Gregory scoffed. "Of course I do," he said, grinning at her. "But why should I when you're here to do it for me?"

Katherine narrowed her eyes. "You disgust me," she told him. "Lie amongst your own filth if you want to, but I'm not cleaning it up for you."

"I'll tell you what," he said smoothly, coming to stand next to her. "If you clean up for me, I'll let you see me naked. And I _know_ you like that."

Katherine scoffed. "No, I don't," she said. "Get over yourself." She started to walk away and he pulled her to him and kissed her hard. Snippets from the dream she'd had of them having sex in the pool flashed before her eyes. When he finally let her go, he was grinning. "You liked that," he said. "Admit it."

She slapped him hard and as his head snapped to the side, she added, "I admit nothing," and stomped off to her room, slamming the door behind her. Why had she come back here? Why hadn't she just stayed with Stefan. Even with the crazy girl around, it still would have been less annoying than coming back here. She sighed and hit the pillow, falling onto the bed, lying there until Gregory came into the room.

"How nice," he said, undressing. "We won't have to waste time."

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Katherine asked. "You used to be so nice and now you're so bad even your own father threw you out."

Gregory smirked. "Thank yourself," he replied. "You're the reason why I'm like this. It's all for you."

"Excuse me?" Katherine replied. "I don't think I ever asked you to turn into the biggest asshole in the world. Why are you blaming your problems on me?"

"Well, let's think about this," Gregory replied, sitting down beside her. "My whole childhood was spent trying to get your attention. I told you you were pretty, I got you flowers, I did every nice thing I could to get your attention and how did you respond? By not giving a shit! You looked at me as if I were something disgusting you couldn't wait to get rid of. You put my heartfelt, sincere feelings aside in favor of what? One night stands that would mean nothing in the morning, and then you'd just go and do the same thing all over again. All I've ever wanted was your attention and to get that, I had no choice but to turn out like this. You made the monster, Katerina. Now deal with the consequences."

She'd felt a little flash of warmth inside when he'd said her name. It sounded so much like the way Elijah said it that she felt herself being drawn toward him. "You were a _boy_!" She told him. "How could you expect me to fall in love with a boy?"

"I didn't," he said. "That's why I've changed. And you like the change in me. Don't deny it. You like me now that I'm all grown up." He lay her back on the bed and they locked eyes for a long moment before she felt his hand slip under her skirt and her panties slide down her leg. Then, he held them in his fist for a moment or two, stroking the silky fabric before throwing them away.

Her breathing quickened. He loomed over her, a smug smirk on his face. He slid her skirt off, his hand running up the inside of her thigh and then rubbing her until she gasped out loud. Then, there was a pause while he got off the bed and rifled around in one of the dresser drawers. "What are you doing?" She asked breathlessly. "Why did you stop?"

His back was to her for a few more seconds, then he turned to grin at her, holding something long and silky in his fist. It was the scarf she'd given him earlier.

"This is why I stopped," he told her. He got back on the bed and tied her wrists to the bedposts before capturing her mouth in his and pushing into her until she no longer had breath to either laugh or scream. When he pulled out of her the last time, she felt drained.

"Tired, Katerina?" He asked, that smug smirk of his back again as he balanced on one arm and gazed at her.

She found the strength to laugh. "Oh, please," she said with more bravado than she felt. "If you want to wear me out, you're going to have to do better than _that_!"

* * *

"Did you have more fun at Colin's game this week since you didn't have to waste time worrying about stains on your clothes?" Selina asked Elijah the next week.

Elijah just gave her a look. "You're going to make me admit it, aren't you?"

"Yes!" Selina nodded. "What is so hard about admitting for once in your life that I was right about something and you were wrong? It's not like it happens a heck of a lot."

"I _was_ more comfortable," Elijah admitted. "And it _was_ nice to be in clothes that can just be washed. But I still feel...uncouth dressing so casually in public."

"Why?" Selina asked. "Everyone else was dressed like you were. No one was gonna mock you or anything."

"You're going to think I'm incredibly foolish, but...I don't like the idea of being just like everyone else," Elijah told her. "The thought of relating to the common man has no appeal to me. And not just because I'm a vampire. When one has lived for as long as I have, one should have something to show for that by being worldly and sophisticated. Being able to relate to the proletariat proves nothing. I know you think nothing of throwing off your former life of wealth and privilege, but I have a reputation to maintain."

Selina put her arms around him. "I know you do," she said. "And I'm not suggesting that you throw all your suits away and wear jeans full time, although that would be_ incredibly_ enjoyable for me. I just suggested you wear jeans to Colin's game so we wouldn't have to send another one of your suits to the cleaners. You only wearing your jeans in this room is all right with me." She kissed him and got his shirt off. "Actually," she continued, grabbing the waistband of his jeans and pulling him toward the bed,"actually, I prefer it that way." She pushed him backward onto the mattress and climbed on top of him. Grinning, he reached up and put his hands on her breasts, pushing her back a little. "Wait just a minute," he instructed.

"What?" Selina asked. "Why?"

"This position is so awkward," Elijah replied. "Get off a minute."

"Wow," Selina replied as she climbed off him. "You know, no one's ever said that to me before."

Elijah smirked. "I'm not rejecting you and you know that," he told her. "I'm just trying to find a comfortable position." He lay normally on the bed and Selina climbed on top of him again, unzipping and stroking him. "I'm about to put you in a _very_ comfortable position," she said and kissed him.

He moaned and held onto her, his fingers threading through her dark hair. When he came, it was with such a jolt that she fell off the bed and landed on the floor.

"Darling?" he asked, panting and looking off the side of the bed. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah," Selina replied, sitting up and gently rubbing a bump on her head. "I'll be fine."

"Sorry," he said to her. He hopped off the bed and came around to pick her up and put her on the mattress again. "If you're hurting, I could kiss it and make it better."

He kissed her lips and then she grinned. "In that case," she told him, "I hurt all over. You're going to have to do an awful lot of kissing."

"That's all right," he said with a grin. "I don't mind." Then, he slipped his tongue inside her, watching her face as he moved it around. She clutched the mattress tightly so she wouldn't fall off again. Then, he slowly eased out of her, kissed her, and entered her. She let out a squeal and then whispered in his ear, "I know you don't like baseball that much, but you just scored a home run."

* * *

Lenora groaned as she tossed and turned in her and James' bed a few weeks later. She felt terrible. Of course it was one of the side effects of being pregnant, but that didn't make it any more tolerable. Finally, she found the strength to sit up. "Max!" She called. "Would you come in here a minute?"

Max came and poked his head through the door. "Yes?" He asked. "Can I get you something?"

She nodded. "A few crackers, please," she requested.

He came with the crackers and sat next to her as she ate them. "When are you going to tell James you're expecting again? Do you think he suspects already?"

"I don't think so," Lenora shook her head. "I've managed not to throw up while he's around so all he knows is that I'm really tired. But I'm gonna force myself to get out of bed and tell him tonight. Where did he go again? And did he tell you when he'd be back?"

"He should be back any time," Max told her. "He had to go talk to your grandmother because she called and said she had a special assignment for him from the council."

"Well, that sounds intriguing," Lenora replied. "I wonder what they want from him."

Just then, they heard the front door open and James called out, "Max! Lenora! I'm back! Anyone home?"

"We're in your room," Max called.

James came in and looked at Lenora with concern. "Are you all right?" He asked. "Are you feeling any more awake than you were this morning?"

"A little bit," Lenora told him. "Not a whole lot, though. I have something I have to tell you."

"And I have something exciting to tell you too!" James replied eagerly. "May I go first?"

He looked so happy that Lenora didn't have the heart to object. "Sure," she nodded. "Go ahead. What's your news?"

"Well," He cleared his throat. "As Max probably told you, the reason why I was gone today is because your grandmother wanted to give me a special assignment from the council. Well, I went to see what it was, and she told me that a group of miscreants have been hiding out in various dimensions to avoid capture and she wants me to go and retrieve them! It could be the biggest capture in history and it would all be due to me!"

"But you can't just go around catching people!" Lenora protested. "That's not your job!"

James grinned. "It is if I got promoted, which I did. Your grandmother liked the idea of me focusing my capturing and killing energies in a more positive way. So if you'll just pack your things, we can leave tomorrow." He saw her face fall and he sat beside her. "What's the matter?" He asked. "Do you not want to come with Henry and me? I thought you'd be more excited."

"Oh, I _am_ excited," Lenora replied. "I'm so proud that you got promoted and that you get to go on all these adventures, and it's not that I don't _want_ to go with you and Henry. It's that I can't. Not right now, anyway."

"Why?" James asked.

"I'm pregnant," Lenora told him. "Grandma doesn't know yet, and I just took the test a few days ago, but she told me when I was pregnant with Henry that it wasn't a good idea to do a lot of interdimensional travel when you're expecting. I was okay coming here because it's not so far from earth, but if I do too much traveling and it won't end well. You and Henry can go without me and send me a postcard every so often. I really don't mind."

"Come on, beauty," James told her. "Do you really think that I'd go anywhere for such a long time as this will be without you? If I left you here like you're suggesting I do, by the time I get back, I will have missed out on your entire pregnancy _and_ the baby being born. I'm gonna need to be gone _at least_ that long, if not longer."

Lenora sniffled. "I know some men who would consider the opportunity to get away from a situation like this a blessing."

James took her in his arms and kissed her forehead. "I am _not_ one of those men," he assured her. "I'm going to stay here until you've had our child and they're old enough to travel too."

"But that'll take more than a year!" Lenora protested. "You're talking nine months until I have the kid, and then adding another six months until they show their powers. That's the earliest any magical person can start traveling between dimensions. You're being very sweet to want to look after me like this, but I think you should tell my grandmother you want to leave now."

"No," James said firmly. "I'm going to tell your grandmother about your condition and say that I am not going anywhere until it reaches it's conclusion, and if she doesn't like it, that's her problem, not mine."

"You're insane, you know that?" Lenora told him, even though she was smiling. "Thank you."

He kissed her hand. "You're welcome, my beauty," he replied.


	50. A Mysterious Message

Lenora's pregnancy progressed well, and several months later, she was near her due date when, to alleviate her sore back, she ran a bath and hauled herself into the tub. She soaked in the warm water for a bit, then suddenly felt a lingering, stabbing pain in the area of her stomach. Her eyes widened as she suddenly realized what was happening.

"James!" She called. "James, get in here!"

James ran into the bathroom. "What?" He asked. "What is it?"

She winced and shut her eyes tight. "It's time," she said. "I think it just happened. Not that I can know for sure if my water broke, cause I'm in a fucking bathtub, but-oh, fuck!" She gritted her teeth against the pain and tried to think happy thoughts.

"Would you like me to come in there?" James asked her. "Because I will."

"Why not?" Lenora asked. "Go ahead."

"Should I call for Max?" James asked her as he undressed.

"You could if you wanted," Lenora said. "But really, you and I know how to do this by ourselves and someone has to occupy Henry."

"That's right!" James exclaimed. He put his pants back on for a moment and then ran out to tell Max that Lenora was in labor and he needed to occupy Henry. Then, he went back to the bathroom and got on his knees next to the bathtub, reaching for Lenora's hand.

"You're doing wonderfully," he said.

"You think?" Lenora asked, gritting her teeth as another wave of pain hit.

"I'm guessing you don't want to try and get to the bedroom or something?" James asked. "You're just gonna have the baby right here?"

Lenora nodded, her breathing quickening. "I think so," she replied. "I don't think I'll have time to move anywhere else."

It wasn't as much of an emergency as Lenora first thought, however, and by the time the little girl finally came into the world, several hours had passed and Lenora was shivering in the cold bathwater.

James had hold of the little girl and now he finally called Max into the bathroom.

"Oh, my god!" Max replied when he entered. "You had the baby already? So _that's_ what all the yelling was! I figured it could only be one of two things and I'm glad this was it!"

"Max, take the baby, please," Lenora said through her teeth, which were chattering. "And James, you help me out of this damn tub and give me a towel!"

Max nodded and took the towel-wrapped baby. After James had helped Lenora out of the tub and they'd drained the water and cleaned up the bathroom, Lenora went to get dressed and got hold of Astrid.

"I was wondering when you were going to call me and tell me you had your baby," Astrid remarked after arriving.

"Yeah, well," Lenora replied, "It's about time. Now, we only have six more months until James can go and catch those criminals like you want. Were you mad at him when he told you that he wanted to wait?"

"No," Astrid shook her head. "I would be an idiot to hate him for the reason he gave. It was a pleasant surprise, honestly. Before the two of you got together and his personality changed, I would have thought his reaction to a situation like this would have been similar to the one your father had when Felicity was born."

"I was surprised too," Lenora remarked. "I told him he could go and send me postcards, you know, since the reason he had to leave was related to work, and he just...wouldn't. No matter what I said, he was firm about staying here."

"It's because he loves you," Astrid told her. "There's no other way to look at it. You're very lucky."

"Yeah," Lenora nodded thoughtfully. "I am."

They went to Lenora and James' bedroom. "We have a little girl," James told her. "I bet she'll be pretty like you."

"Awww, stop, you flatterer!" Lenora replied, blushing. She took the little girl from James and Astrid sat on her other side. "What are you gonna call her?" She asked.

"I don't know," Lenora replied. "She looked at James. "Any ideas?"

"I named Henry," James told her. "It's your turn."

Lenora looked into her daughter's eyes and tried to think. Finally, she had one idea. "Susanna," she suggested. "Is that good?"

"Sounds all right to me," James agreed. "Susanna it is. Susanna Astrid."

They heard a knock on the bedroom door and James opened it to see a somewhat perturbed-looking Henry on the other side. "Max said you had the baby," he said. "Does that mean we can go on the trip now like Daddy promised?"

"Not yet," Lenora told him. "We still have to wait six months, and then we'll go. I promise."

Henry stomped his foot. "But that's so _long_!" He whined. "I wanna go now!"

"Well, you can't," James told him. "You'll have to wait. Why don't you come and greet your new sister in the meantime?"

Henry came and looked down at his sister with distaste. "It's your fault we can't go on our trip," he said. "I don't like you." Then he turned and left the room.

"Well, that wasn't necessarily the reaction I wanted him to have, but I'm sure his attitude will improve when we finally are able to leave," Lenora shrugged.

"I'm sure it will too," Astrid assured her, putting a hand on her arm. "Not every child gets on with their new sibling as well as you did with Felicity."

"Yeah," Lenora nodded. "I was lucky. Of course I don't see her as much as I'd like to now, but at least we talk."

"Give it six months," Astrid told her. "Henry's attitude ought to have improved by then. I'll be very surprised if it doesn't."

* * *

And not surprisingly, she was correct. Once Susanna started showing her powers and James told Henry that meant they could leave, Henry was in much better spirits, holding onto his sister tightly as he took her around the boat they would be traveling on, showing her the rooms and the machinery.

"This is the helm," he told her as they stood in front of it. "It steers the boat. See?" Susanna watched it intently and reached out for it. Henry stepped closer so she could touch it with her tiny fingers, her soft blonde hair blowing in the breeze.

A few minutes later, James and Lenora came on board the boat clutching the bags. "You showing your sister the ways of the ship?" James asked Henry. "That's a good lad."

"Yeah," Henry told him. He tried to step away from the helm and Susanna let out a whimper and reached out again. "Apparently she likes it," Henry told his father. "I think we'll be staying here."

James grinned and put the bags down, taking her from Henry. "You're a smart girl," he told his daughter. "They who steer the ship own the world." Once the bags were firmly in place, James asked Lenora, "Ready to go?"

"Not yet," Lenora told him. "I told Aunt Lucy that we were leaving today. She and Damon wanted to come and say goodbye and then they're going to castle sit while we're gone. They should be here any minute."

And true to her word, Lucy and Damon came strolling into the yard a few minutes later. "Wow!" Damon told James. "That inter-dimensional travel business is something else. A big rush!"

"It is, isn't it?" James asked. "Wonderful to see you, my friend." He and Damon embraced briefly and then stepped back. Damon surveyed the boat and let out a whistle. "This thing's impressive," he remarked. "But will it actually work? It's not all flash and no substance, is it?"

"No," James assured him. "It'll travel well."

"It better," Lucy told him, cuddling Susanna. "You have a lot of precious cargo traveling with you."

"Yeah," James told her. "Don't think I don't know how lucky I am. Because I do. I'm _extremely _lucky."

"I trust you to take good care of Lenora," Lucy told him. "Will you do that for me?"

James nodded. "Always, Lucy. Don't you worry. She means as much to me as she does to you, which is a lot, I know."

"Thank you," Lucy replied, a catch in her voice. "Thank you very much."

"You're welcome," James replied. Just then, Lucy held out her hand. James gripped it and for awhile, Lucy just held on, until Damon pulled her away. "They probably have to get going," he told her. "You can let go of him now."

"It's all right," James told him. "I don't mind."

Lucy handed Susanna back to Lenora and told her, take care of yourself. And if it's possible to write me from wherever you're going, please do it. I know you're in good hands, but-"

"Don't worry," Lenora replied, hugging her with her free arm. "I'll keep in touch. I promise."

Lucy nodded and hugged back, then Lenora and Susanna got on the ship and, waving and shouting goodbyes to Damon and Lucy, took off for untold dimensions, in pursuit of adventures that Damon and Lucy could only dream about.

Once they were gone, Damon and Lucy looked at one another. "That was easier than I thought it would be," Lucy said.

"You handled yourself well," Damon told her. "I'm proud of you." He turned her toward the castle. "Now, look what we get to live in for the next who knows how many months?"

"It looks a lot better than it did the first time we came here," Lucy replied. "I'll give it that." They went inside and Max met them at the door. "Hi," he said. "I've been instructed to tell you to make yourselves comfortable and that I'll bring you whatever you need."

"You don't have to do that, Max!" Lucy replied. "And why are you still here? Why didn't you go with them?"

"I would have," Max replied. "But inter-dimensional travel has never agreed with me, so I opted to stay here. That doesn't bother you, does it?"

"Oh, no!" Lucy shook her head. "Of course not. Carry on."

Damon grinned and put an arm around Lucy. "Yep," He replied. "I really think I'm gonna enjoy living here. No doubt about that."

* * *

"Thanks for agreeing to come on this hike with me," Felicity told Stefan as the two of the them made their way up a steep hill. "I've been wanting to come up here for ages. I bet the view from the top will be fantastic."

"No problem," Stefan replied, doing his best not to stare at her butt. It was very difficult, cause she was climbing above him and all he could do was look up. But that wasn't as bad as having to look at her from the front. She was fourteen now and well-developed. It was getting harder and harder to control himself and pretend that he had absolutely no desire to be closer to her now than they'd ever been before.

"Careful where you step!" He called after her. "The rocks can move at any time. And if you fall, there's a stream underneath us that will just wash you away. I'll have a tough time explaining _that_ to your father."

"What?" Felicity called. And just as she turned, she lost her footing and began tumbling down the hill at high speed.

"Help!" She called as she tried to step herself. "Stefan, help!" But Stefan was already on it. He sped toward her and managed to finally break her momentum just before she hit the water. Breathing hard, he looked down at her bruised, bleeding face. "I don't think I need to ask if you're all right," he observed, clutching her to himself. "You don't look like it."

"I feel sick," Felicity replied. "Not good at all. Take me somewhere where I can lie down, please."

"I definitely will," Stefan told her. "And we are definitely _not_ gonna try climbing that again. At least not for a few days."

"Why not?" Felicity asked. "Give me an hour or so to heal and I'll be fine."

"Yeah, well, it's gonna take longer than that for me to recover from the sight of you rolling bleeding and bruised down toward the ocean," Stefan told her. "Have some consideration for _me_ for a change, would you?"

"The only reason why you were so worried about me and are relieved I'm better now is because you don't want to have to tell my father that anything bad happened to me!" Felicity said. "Are you _that_ scared of him?!"

"No!" Stefan yelled back. "For once, my worry about you has absolutely nothing to do with your father. Can't I just be scared as hell about you falling down a hill, being hurt and almost being washed away by fast-moving rapids without it having it have anything to do with your father?"

"Wait," Felicity said. "You were worried about me?"

"Yeah," Stefan nodded. "I was. Happy?"

"Well, yeah, I am," Felicity replied, grinning widely. "You're so sweet!"

"Yeah, well, don't go telling anyone about this," he said. "This is just between you and me."

"All right," Felicity agreed, kissing him on the cheek. "Whatever you say." He picked her up and took her to his car, laying her in the backseat. "Are you gonna be all right?" He asked her. "At least until we get back to the hotel?"

"I think so," Felicity replied.

Even so, Stefan drove back as quickly as possible, and helped Felicity through the hotel and to their room.

"Get in your bed and rest," he ordered.

"Okay," Felicity nodded, even though she was sure she didn't really need it, and when there was a knock on the door, she was out of bed like a shot to answer it. There was no one on the other side, however. Just a note with her name on the front of it. She picked it up, looking down either side of the hallway. Seeing no one, she shut the door, went to sit at the table and opened the note. It was short, in spiky, impatient script:

_You're not who you think you are. People have been lying to you all along. It's time you learned the truth._

Felicity read it over a couple more times, trying to figure out what it meant.

"What does it say?" Stefan asked.

"I don't think it says anything," she said, giving it to him. "See if you can figure out what I can't." Stefan read it over, crumpled it up, and threw it into the garbage. "It's nothing," he told her. "Just a prank someone's playing on you. Not a thing to worry about."

"Really?" Felicity asked.

"Yeah," Stefan nodded. "I think it would be best if you just forgot about it and didn't say a word to your father. I won't either, I promise."

"Well, all right," Felicity agreed. But something didn't feel right and when Stefan wasn't looking, she picked the crumpled note up out of the trash and put it in her purse. Someone had taken the time to send this to her and she didn't think it was a joke. It had to mean something and she would find out what, no matter how long it took her.

**The End**

**Next up: The Young and the Restless**


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